


the truth hurts

by grilledcheezer



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst-filled nightmares x10, Emotional Hurt, Episode: s03e13 Cassandra's Revenge, Hurt, I can sometimes have a vivid imagination - Freeform, I edited out Calliope because...Calliope, I made Cass worse oops, Injury, Kidnapping, Major Character Injury, Still love her though, This is basically a rewrite, Truth Serum, Varian is a mess, Whump, Whumpty Dumpty, Zhan Tiri ruins more things, my poor son, variangst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:01:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23209711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grilledcheezer/pseuds/grilledcheezer
Summary: What if Varian fought against the Truth Serum, and refused to tell Cassandra the Third Incantation? And what if, by doing so, he was subjected to the serum's painful side-effects? Cass has to figure out another way to get the incantation, Varian deals with the consequences of her actions, and Zhan Tiri hatches a darker plot on the side.
Relationships: Cassandra & Varian (Disney: Tangled), Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel, Quirin & Varian (Disney), Zhan Tiri/Pure Evil
Comments: 165
Kudos: 364





	1. this wasn't supposed to happen

**Author's Note:**

> Welp. My first fanfic ever! Extremely new to this, all critiques & comments welcomed!!:)  
> No idea how this will turn out xD

** 𐄙─✧──𐄙────✧────𐄙──✧─𐄙 **

The first thing Varian felt upon waking was pain. His head was throbbing, a strong reminder of his recent kidnapping by someone he still considered to be a friend. Slowly, he pried open his eyes in a weak attempt to take in his new surroundings.

The second thing Varian experienced upon waking was a bitter taste in his mouth. Unable to figure out what the cause of it was, he decided to leave it alone for the time being. _I’ve got more important things to worry about right now than what I last ate._

Groggily, he was finally able to fully regain consciousness. As he did so, his brain instantly focused on the most prominent feature of his new location: the black rocks.

He winced before blurting out, “Hey—wha..where are we?”  
  
In a desperate attempt to sound unafraid, Varian tried to keep his voice even and mustered as much calmness as he could into his words. Unfortunately, Cassandra could see right through his clumsy facade.Sitting directly across from him, she ignored his question.

“I need that Third Incantation, Varian,” she said bluntly. Varian flinched inwardly. _She certainly never was one to waste time._ Despite his uneasiness, he managed to meet her eyes.

“ _Never_ ,” Varian muttered. And he really meant it. No matter how much he still cared about Cassi—no, _Cass—_ he was not about to endanger the lives of the entire kingdom _again._

 _I’ve caused enough damage as it is,_ he thought.Varian was brought back to the present with the sound of Cass addressing him once again.

“I knew you’d say that,” she smirked. Her expression morphed into one of annoyance as she lifted Varian’s bag up. “That’s why I went through your little bag of _tricks._ ” She emphasized the last word in an almost venomous tone, dropping Varian’s bag onto the rock she was now preparing to abandon.

“I found something in here that might _change your mind,_ ” Cassandra said smugly, strolling over to Varian. _Don’t tell me it’s—_ he thought in a panic, just as she showed him an empty vial.

“Recognize this?”

_—that._

Varian’s heart came to a halt and his mind froze. He knew the effects of the serum quite well, of course. He hadn’t even had a chance to come up with a way to avoid getting it shoved down his throat before words started tumbling out of his mouth.

“HA! No— _ngyah_ , YES-it’s-a-truth-serum-of-my-own-design-and-it-compells-the-drinker-to-tell-the-truth-and-answer-any-question-asked.” Varian paused, feeling slightly nauseated. “Wait, but I never drank that!” he blurted out. _What was going on? No—_

Cassandra leaned closer to Varian, and he attempted to back away before hitting his head against whatever hard object he was tied up to. “Lucky for me, you sleep with your mouth open,” Cassandra smirked.

 _Guess it’s too late now to avoid the shoving-down-my-throat scenario_ , Varian grimaced.

He braced himself, both physically and mentally. Varian knew what was about to happen.

Cassandra’s tone suddenly shifted and her voice grew dark. “So let me ask you. _What’s the Third Incantation?_ ” There was a pause. An audible gasp of pain followed, with Varian visibly attempting to fight back against the effects of the truth serum.

One, two, then three seconds passed.Varian opened his mouth, and Cassandra grinned. _Here we go_ , she thought.

Finally, she could unlock her true abilities as the wielder of the moonstone.

Finally, she could prove she was more than just second best.

Finally, there was nothing left standing in her—

“I’m not telling you.”

Cassandra blinked. _Did I hear that right?_ “What?” she demanded impatiently.

“I said I’m n—” Varian gasped again, curling his head towards his chest as he tried to breathe through the pain. _This isn’t supposed to hurt this much. Why does it hurt this much?_

Varian clenched his teeth and managed to get out the rest of his sentence, with each sound leaving his throat sending waves of pain coursing through his body.

“I’m n-not tell-telling you,” he winced.

Cassandra merely stared at him mutely, shocked beyond words. _This wasn’t how this was supposed to go._

She was startled out of her thoughts by a sharp voice. “Is that the best you can do?” the blue girl asked her. _Oh right, she was still here._ “What?” Cass asked her in annoyance.

“You merely asked the boy to give up the incantation once before freezing up entirely. Did you expect power to come easily?” the blue girl raised an eyebrow. “No, Cassandra. In order to be the best, _you have to cross some lines,_ ” Zhan Tiri said darkly, her soulless eyes glancing to the young alchemist on the ground.   
  


**𐄙─✧──𐄙────✧────𐄙──✧─𐄙**   
  
  



	2. do trees make good debate partners?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS!
> 
> It's literally only been around two hours since I posted the first chapter, but I've already received such kind words from you all <3  
> Thanks so much for giving me that extra bit of motivation to continue this fic!
> 
> It's past 3a.m. here, but I was so into the writing mode that I kinda just ZOOMED through the second chapter?!  
> I'm hoping it's not mistake-ridden but we shall see! xD 
> 
> This chapter is super focused on some internal stuff (I wonder what's going on?? Hmmm.. O.O), but the plot thickens (slowly yet surely).  
> Once again, comments and criticisms are welcomed with open arms :D
> 
> Enjoy~
> 
> Side note - the chapter title. Don't question it ... zzz

** 𐄙─✧──𐄙────✧────𐄙──✧─𐄙 **

Varian was confused.

One minute, his kidnapper was drugging him with an unstable serum in an attempt to gain access to an all-powerful incantation in order to fulfill her destiny — whatever _that_ meant.The next minute, she was staring at him in shock, as if he were some enigma she hadn’t noticed before. The words _Are you okay?_ hadn’t even left Varian’s lips before the next strangest thing happened: Cassandra began to argue with a tree.

Actually, the more Varian observed the obscure scene unfolding before him, the more he realized she seemed to be arguing with _everything._ Cassandra was walking around, moving her head every so often to face whatever invisible force she seemed to be in a heated verbal disagreement with. Sometimes she would turn to face trees, black rocks, and even _the ground._

 _After months spent with no one other than a raccoon and my dad’s suspended corpse, even I didn’t snap THIS much_. 

If he didn’t know any better, Varian would’ve thought she was at war with nature itself. The only reason he thought she hadn’t completely lost it ( _maybe she’s simply fighting with herself? I talk to myself out loud sometimes,_ he tried to rationalize) was because her eyes seemed to be focused on a specific…whatever it was that she was seeing.Despite her erratic movements, her eyes remained fixed on a single point. Even her body seemed to mimic the actions of her eyes. Occasionally, Cass would glance in Varian’s direction and look at him for just a few seconds.

 _Maybe she’s calmed down now_ , Varian thought hopefully.

“No!” she snapped, turning her head back to its original position and raising her voice again. “No, I’m sure there's another way.”

 _Nope never mind, she’s still not okay._ He waited in silence, not wanting to interrupt Cassandra’s breakdown both out of respect for her personal space and fear for his own safety.The pain in his body had now subsided to a numb, almost pulsating feeling. Nothing hurt too much, he just felt _weird_.

 _Thank god_ , Varian sighed. He wasn’t sure how long he could’ve held out, being that his tolerance for pain was extremely low.Varian’s thoughts were interrupted _once again_ by his former friend, who had now begun untying his ha— _wait, she’s untying me?_

He stared up at her in bewilderment.“Cass! Are you—”

“I’m not letting you go,” she said coldly, her sharp words puncturing that small balloon of hope that Varian’s silly mind had begin to form.

 _Of course she’s not letting you go, Varian,_ he thought sadly. _She still needs that incantation._

Images of his disastrously chaotic lab, filled with his alchemy supplies, flashed through his mind just then. Varian imagined he was back there, in his safe place, conducting one of his many experiments with Ruddiger.

Oh _Ruddiger._ How he missed his friend, even after only having been separated from him for a few short hours. Varian thought of his other friends; Eugene, Lance, Rapunzel, even Kiera and Catalina. Were they looking for him? He wasn’t sure.

All he knew was that it’d been several hours since Cass had invaded his lab, judging by the calculations he’d made using his current surroundings to figure out the distance travelled, and so far there had been no sign of his friends.

 _Do they even care?_ Varian suddenly thought. _Are they even looking for me?_

Varian felt his mind doing back flips, mulling over dark thoughts that seemed to want to surface _now_ of all times. He willed his brain to steer away from thinking about his friends, but instead found himself obsessing over someone else now: _his dad._

His train of thought began with a simple question at first: _has anyone told Dad what’s happened yet?_ But then, Varian felt a burning sensation in his skull and flashes of repressed memories started to resurface.A yellow substance, a painful fall, a trek through a blizzard, the Princess, and then…returning home to find his only remaining family encased in cold, hard amber.

 _It’s your fault, you know_. _You did this to him._

 __ “No…” Varian whispered. The thoughts, however, refused to dissipate.

 _Because of you, he lost a year of his life and returned to find his son had somehow managed to become an even bigger disappointment than he was before._ _Because of you, the Sundrop nearly lost her family and friends._ _Because of you, Cassandra was nearly crushed. You’re really surprised she drugged you?_

**_I’m surprised she hasn’t done worse yet._ **

“No—stop, please,” Varian begged his thoughts not to spiral any further. This really wasn’t the time nor place.

“Varian—”

 _You really thought Cassandra would let you go, after everything you’ve done?_ _She still needs you, she needs your knowledge. Giving it to her is the least you can do to repent for your sins._

“I c-can’t—Corona…Corona would be in danger again, because of me! I can’t—” Varian was becoming slightly panicked. He felt his breaths hitch and his chest tightened. 

“Are yo—”

_Then you will suffer._

A flash of white hot pain burned through Varian’s body, and it took everything in his power to stop himself from screaming out loud. The pain lasted only a second, but it was enough to leave the alchemist breathless and haunted by the dark thoughts his brain had suddenly decided to supply him with in this situation.

“—ian. Varian!”

Varian blinked several times, once again suppressing the urge to shriek when he realized Cassandra was face to face with him, shaking his shoulders. _When did she get here?_

“Are you alright?”, she asked him, concern clearly visible in her eyes. “I’ve been trying to get you to calm down for the last five minutes. You just started shaking and muttering things about—” Cassandra cut herself off abruptly.

She seemed to realize something just then, and her entire demeanour shifted. The worry that previously lined her bright blue eyes was replaced with an icy glare. Her armour-covered arms dropped from Varian’s shoulders, and instead they reached for his hands.Cassandra roughly grabbed the teen by his gloved hands and dragged him upright.He wobbled unsteadily, still clearly shaken by the emotional episode he’d undergone in his mind, but managed to stay standing.

“Let’s go,” Cassandra said curtly, pulling Varian along.

Varian stumbled, but managed to briefly wheeze out a _“Where are we going?”_ as he was dragged along unwillingly. Cassandra stared at him for a second, then turned her head ever so slightly, locking eyes with the blue demon only visible to the moonstone wielder. She then shifted her eyes forward, towards the large gathering of trees that they were approaching.

She remained silent for several seconds, before she whispered so quietly that Varian had to strain his ears to catch her voice.

“ _Home._ ”

**𐄙─✧──𐄙────✧────𐄙──✧─𐄙**


	3. questionable morals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooooooo I dunno how I feel about this one??
> 
> I feel like maybe I was writing too much exposition? xD  
> I didn't want to just jam in the next plot point without a lil bit of build up and dialogue though, and I think it turned out relatively decent (hopefully).  
> I also tend to add descriptions because whoops, I like to make fics sound like novels xD
> 
> Things are escalating because CASS FINALLY HAS A PLAN?? O.O

** 𐄙─✧──𐄙────✧────𐄙──✧─𐄙 **

The trek through the forest proved to be much more awkward than Cass had initially anticipated.The silence that rang out was tense and laced with a strange sense of foreboding. Her frie—err, _hostage_ —trailed behind her, his worn eyes often finding their way to the back of her figure, boring holes into her as he attempted to dissect whatever plan she seemed to have for him.Varian was anxiously calculating the endless possibilities as to how his situation could turn out. Unfortunately for him, many of his invented scenarios seemed to end with him being in a rather dark predicament.

 _Is she just going to murder me out here in the forest?_ he thought fearfully. _Calm down, Varian. She wouldn't do that._ _She’d probably torture you to get the incantation before resorting to murder._

Varian sighed. His thoughts rarely soothed him, and rather than offering him comfort they always seemed to turn against him in times of dire need.

Home, she’d said. _But where’s that?_

Similarly to him, Cassandra was also wrestling with herself internally. The memory of Varian’s panic attack still fresh on her mind, she wasn’t sure if she should blame herself.

 _I literally kidnapped and drugged him. Anyone would freak out._ She paused. _But I’m not hurting him, not really._

 _And besides,_ she pondered, her eyes glancing to the blue apparition beside her. _It’s a necessary means to an even more necessary end._

**✧ ✧ ✧**

Back in the kingdom’s capitol, the tension in the air wasn’t any lighter.

“What do you mean, we shouldn’t go _now?_ ”, the Princess exclaimed. “ _He’s our friend._ And he’s in _danger_. We can’t just abandon him!”

 _Not again,_ Rapunzel thought dejectedly. _I will not put him through that again._

“Sunshine, we’re not abandoning him,” Eugene said quietly, placing a comforting hand onto her shoulder. “But we searched in the dark for hours, and with the lack of light outside it’s not easy to figure out where Cass might’ve gone with him.”

“She’s right, Princess,” Lance chimed in sadly. “Our best option right now is to get a few hours of rest and regroup in the morning. We have a much better chance of finding him if we aren’t falling asleep and can actually see our surroundings”.

“But…,” Rapunzel started, voice dropping to a whisper. “Varian’s already been with her for hours. The longer we leave him with her, the more chances she has to…,” she trailed off, unable to even finish the thought.

“Varian’s a strong kid,” Eugene smiled softly. “He’ll be okay. I don’t think he would give up the incantation, no matter what Cass tries on him.”

 _That’s the problem,_ Rapunzel thought, fear settling into the pit of her stomach once again. _He won’t give in._

**✧ ✧ ✧**

After passing what seemed like the millionth tree, Varian gave in to both his anxiety and curiosity.“Are we there ye—” he started.

“We’re here,” Cass declared, halting so suddenly that Varian wasn’t able to stop himself before he slammed face-first into her armour-covered back.Cassandra whirled around in surprise, unsheathing her sword on instinct and pointing it at her unseen attacker.

Varian, meanwhile, dazed and with a bruised nose, was sprawled out onto the hard ground he had previously been walking on.He yelped once he found the tip of Cassandra’s menacing sword pointed right at him, mere inches from his face.

Cass lowered her sword, sighing. “What are you doing? Are you _asking_ for me to take off your head?”.

“NO! DEFINITELY NOT!” he practically shrieked, the effects of the serum causing him to respond before he even processed her question.

Varian covered his mouth with his hands and gulped. _Calm down, she’s not going to kill you—_

“Come on,” Cass said, rolling her eyes. “We’re here.”

Varian blinked.In his preoccupation, he had not only failed to notice how much time had passed, but also where they had now ended up.The sun’s rays had begun to peak through the sky’s dark cloak, and the early chitters of birds could be heard coming from the surrounding treetops.

Varian and Cassandra stood in a small clearing, where a building of some sort was visible from their position near the forest’s opening. An old broken bridge could be seen ahead of them, half-laying in the body of water that completely surrounded the building on one side.

 _A cottage,_ Varian realized, pleasantly surprised. _I was expecting something way worse than this._ He thanked the stars for allowing his pessimistic thoughts from earlier to be so hilariously wrong. Cassandra thrust out her arm, summoning black rocks to create a slightly unstable path for them to cross the water.

The strange pair and the demonic presence entered the abandoned cottage. The air was musty, and dust covered every inch of the building’s interior.Strangely, the house appeared to have not been looted, even after all the years it had remained abandoned.Cassandra strolled towards an object laying on one of the small tables near the entrance.

An ancient mirror loomed back at her, and Cass brushed her hand against its surface, washing away the years’ worth of dust and grime that covered it.A bright light illuminated the mirror, momentarily startling the three newcomers. Suddenly, a smirking woman with dark tangles appeared on the smooth surface.

“My, how beautiful you’re looking today” the strange woman laughed, flipping her hair as she did so.

The blue demon chuckled.

The alchemist stuttered.

“Th-That’s—”

The former handmaiden whispered.

“My mother.”

**✧ ✧ ✧**

To say he was lost was quite the understatement.

Aside from the fact that Varian _quite literally_ had no idea where the cottage they were in was located, he also didn’t know why they were there in the first place. He’d heard about Gothel being Cassandra’s birth mother from Rapunzel, the night she’d sat him down and finally decided to explain why Cass hadn’t come back to Corona with her.He knew what she’d looked like from a painting he’d seen her do once, which was the only reason he could put some of the pieces of his current situation together.But that one vital piece of the puzzle was still missing.

Cassandra’s previous lack of hostility disappeared, almost as if the physical reminder of her bitter hatred towards Rapunzel had caused her to remember her original goal: _Get that incantation._

She grabbed a surprised Varian by the collar and dragged him to another room, before suddenly flinging him to the ground. He was left wheezing, sprawled out onto the ground once again.Before he could reorient himself, he felt his right arm being pulled so forcefully he thought it might pop out of his socket right then and there. Varian cried out in pain, turning his head slightly to see Cassandra using her black rocks to bind his wrist to the foot of the bed that occupied a third of the room they’d just entered.

She let him go and stepped back, glaring at him.“Now, since you don’t exactly plan to give me the incantation anytime soon, and your _magic potion_ didn’t seem to work,” — Varian resisted the urge to correct her on both her use of the word magic as well as her claim about the serum not working — “I have to use… _other_ means to get the information out of you.”

Varian felt his heart rate speed up as Cassandra finished her sentence.Then, she spoke again.

“But, I don’t want to have to hurt you. You’re not the one I have a problem with.”

 _Are you sure about that?_ Varian winced, flashbacks of his earlier thoughts returning to the forefront of his mind again. _I would deserve it._

Cassandra thought for a second, thinking of ways she could make her former friend talk without having to resort to violence.Violence would definitely be the easy route, no doubt.But she wasn’t about to stoop that low.

_I’m not a villain. I still have some morals._

She glanced over at her blue companion, who was sitting on the bed, smirking at her.

Suddenly, a thought struck her like a bolt of lightning, giving her the answer she was searching for.

The blue girl had mentioned something previously, during their search for the Demanitus scroll.

She’d been talking about a need for a future army, and had said something about an artifact.

Cassandra had previously brushed it off, claiming, “What do I need an army for? I’m not planning on starting a war or anything. And besides, once I get the incantation, I’ll be powerful enough on my own”.

 _I still don’t need an army,_ Cass thought. _But what I do need…_

Zhan Tiri locked eyes with her, and noticed the small gleam in her eyes.“Well, Cassandra?” she questioned amusingly. “Just what, exactly, do you plan to do?”

Cassandra held her gaze, then looked down to the small teenager still chained to her childhood bed.

_…is leverage._

** 𐄙─✧──𐄙────✧────𐄙──✧─𐄙 **


	4. margin of error

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys UwU
> 
> I'm positively melting! <3  
> The amount of feedback and engagement I've gotten from you all is blowing me away! I love love love responding to all your comments, they really do make my day.  
> So here's the next chappy O.O  
> Initially, I had planned for this to include all the events of the next chapter as well. As I was writing it though I realized it would be a lil long, at least compared to my previous chapters' lengths! So, for consistency's sake, I split 'em up. 
> 
> Some more dialogue and character stuffs! UwU  
> Writing some of these scenes drained me a lil emotionally, but doing Zhan Tiri made up for it a bit. She's just so much fun xD  
> Anyways, enjoy!!
> 
> ~ Questions, Comments & Criticisms Welcome! :D ~

**𐄙─✧──𐄙────✧────𐄙──✧─𐄙**

Rapunzel stood at the top of the castle’s staircase, impatiently playing with one of the many loose strands of hair that had failed to comply with her daily hairdo. She was supposed to meet up with Eugene, Lance, and the girls in a few minutes, but Rapunzel had already been waiting at their designated meeting spot for the last hour, anxious to begin their search.She hadn’t gotten any rest the night before, her guilt crushing any chance she had of experiencing that luxury. 

Rapunzel had simply laid in bed, her alchemist-focused thoughts swirling around her brain in a muddled mess. She had given up on sleep after that, and decided to turn to painting in order to calm her nerves.

Unfortunately, when Rapunzel saw that her lines began to take on the form of a familiar face she knew all too well, she had to give that up too. It was no use. Everywhere she turned, Rapunzel saw him. Even when she closed her eyes, visions of Varian, pleading for his life as Cassandra loomed over him with her ominous sword, flooded her senses. She shuddered, unable to imagine how scared her friend must be feeling right now.

At the bottom of the staircase, the castle doors were thrown open so violently that Rapunzel was jolted out of her thoughts. She peered down from her position, unable to identify the newcomer who had begun to argue with the Coronan guards.Eugene and Lance rushed towards Rapunzel, clearly attracted by the commotion, with Kiera and Catalina following closely behind.

“What’s going on?” Lance asked, confusion clearly sprawled across his facial features.The group descended the stairs hurriedly, and as they drew nearer to the entrance Rapunzel managed to catch bits of the conversation taking place.

“Where is he?” a frenzied voice demanded. “What happened? Please, can someone _please_ just tell me what _happened_?”

Rapunzel’s heart dropped. She recognized that voice.

“I’m sorry sir, the details of the situation are still uncl—” Stan had started, before the deep voice cut him off.

“Please. I just need to know if he’s alright. Where is he?” the man pleaded.

“Quirin,” Rapunzel said softly, locking eyes with the older man.His face lit up slightly, hopeful the Princess would be able to provide him with a rational explanation as to where his son was. _He’s got to be safe,_ Quirin prayed to no one in particular. _Please, just let him be okay._

Rapunzel fought back her tears as she gazed into Varian’s father’s eyes, and prepared to give him the news.“There’s something I have to tell you.”

**✧ ✧ ✧**

_You know, this is actually a really nice bedroom,_ Varian mused as he observed the place in which a younger Cass had spent the early days of her childhood. The walls, the furniture, and even the bedding seemed to contribute to the sort of cute-yet-cozy atmosphere of the room.It wasn't the worst place to be held captive, and it was certainly better than the ruins of the tower.

Varian turned his head to take in more of his surroundings, and his eyes met those belonging to the room’s former occupant. She had been staring at him intently.Varian gazed back, shifting his body anxiously, his one chained wrist rattling the cuff as he moved. The awkward staring contest lasted several more seconds before the alchemist was the one who decided to break the tension. He really was getting wary of their shared silences, seeing as how they always seemed to lead to one of the pair snapping and experiencing an emotional breakdown in front of the other.

Varian cleared his throat awkwardly, before opening his mouth to address his blue-haired kidnapper. “So…what are we doing?”

_Dumb move Varian. REALLY dumb._

He expected her to lash out in some way. A snarky comment, a vicious remark about the future agony she would put him through, maybe even just an eye roll.What Varian didn’t expect was for Cass to drop her cold guise entirely and stroll towards him, plopping onto the area of the bed nearest to his position on the floor. She sighed wearily and brought her hands up to cover her face.

“I don’t know,” she mumbled through her hands, the sound coming out slightly muffled. “I just don’t know.”

Varian was taken aback. Was this really the same Cass who had broken into his lab and taken him against his will? She was acting almost like her old self, and suspiciously so. It seemed too good to be true. _It’s a trap,_ Varian thought suddenly. _There’s no way it isn’t._

Cass lifted her face just then, turning to face him.A sad smile on her lips, she asked him, “Do you ever just feel…lost?”

Boy, did he ever. “Every second of my life,” Varian admitted, his skepticism mingling together with unrepressed curiosity. He wondered where this was leading.

“Well, that’s how I feel right now. I thought I knew what I was doing, but I have _absolutely no idea._ No plan, nothing!” she sighed, exasperated. “I feel like I did a few hours after I first took the moonstone. Even then, I thought I’d had an idea of what my destiny was, but after that moment of exhilaration was gone…” she trailed off.

 _You felt empty and utterly alone,_ Varian thought sadly, remembering those not-so-distant feelings all too well. 

“It’s just that…I thought that by kidnapping you, I could use the incantation to gain access to the moonstone’s full potential,” Cass paused. “ _My_ full potential.”

Varian shook his head at her, confounded. “Cass, _you_ are not the moonstone. You aren’t defined by it, and you shouldn’t feel the need to do certain things simply because you think it’s your _destiny._ ”

“But if I don’t have the moonstone, then I have nothing,” she argued back. “Before I snatched away Rapunzel’s destiny, I was _nobody._ Just her Royal Highness’ handmaiden,” Cass scoffed. “Heck of a legacy _that_ is.”

“You’re wrong.”

Cass looked at Varian, surprised. “What?” she asked.

“I said, you’re wrong,” he repeated. “You were never just a handmaiden. At least, not to me. You were a fierce warrior, an amazing fighter who could take on anyone! You weren’t afraid of anything, and even challenged others. You were a loyal friend, one who always defended the people she cared about…You’ve never been _just ordinary_ , Cass.” 

Varian paused just then to offer the girl in question a warm smile. “Just _extra_ ordinary,” he grinned cheekily.

Cassandra was at a loss for words.“You’re really something, eh kid?”

Varian laughed. _This wasn't a trap._ _This was really Cass._

He wasn’t talking to the girl who’d reminded him so much of his past self, filled with irrepressible anger and hate. _No,_ Varian thought. _This is different._ This was the girl _he_ knew.

The one who’d saved his life the day they’d met, the one who’d accepted his clumsy attempts at impressing her wholeheartedly, and the one who’d chosen to help him clean up at the Expo while sporting his gift rather than taking the guard assignment she had been so desperately wanting. “So, how do you do it? Stay grounded, I mean,” Cassandra asked him.

“Well, that’s what family and friends are for! They push you to be your best self, and they’re reminders of your strengths and weaknesses.”

 _Mostly your weaknesses. Reminders of your endless mistakes, the pain you put them through, the way you—_ Varian blinked, shaking away the slew of oncoming thoughts that threatened his sanity once again.Now was not the time. 

He turned to Cassandra, and his grin grew even wider. “Also, alchemy.”

She looked at him, confused. “Excuse me?”

“Alchemy!” Varian startled her again with his enthusiasm. “Doing the things you love, I think that’s another great way to stay grounded. You can really get out of your head, focus on something else for a few hours, and just _enjoy_ it.”

Cass remembered all the times her training sessions helped to calm her down and clear her head. Running around and swinging her sword, she’d always somehow felt at peace with herself. _He’s right,_ she thought.Cass smirked, not in the villainous way she had done so before, but in a more teasing manner.

“Of course you’d bring alchemy into this,” she laughed. “How has _that_ been going for you lately?”

Varian perked up, his smile growing even more, if that was even possible at this point.“Oh _man!_ Okay, well I started revising some of my plans for the hot water system I’d started a while ago — you know, the one that blew up when we first met? Anyways, I think I found a way to adjust the margin of error, because _let me tell you_ , 0.57 is _clearly_ not a good number for me…” he rambled on, absolutely thrilled to have the chance to speak this much to a living, breathing _human_ , and about _alchemy_ no less.

He really hadn’t gotten out of his lab much during the weeks he’d spent translating the scroll, and keeping it all inside was absolute torture for the young scientist. The truth serum had no need to try to force the information out of him, since Varian was willingly sharing all the details of his latest alchemical shenanigans at this point.

“…so _then,_ it kinda just decided to, well, _explode_. Hot cocoa was _everywhere._ The walls, my supplies, Ruddiger…yeah, if Demanitus knew what his chamber was being used for, he would _not be impressed_ …”

Cass was listening to his every word, captivated by the endless tales of Varian’s recent scientific endeavours.Warm, bubbly laughs escaped her, often causing Varian to join in with his own.Zhan Tiri had been watching the scene unfold from the start. Even now, she didn’t understand it.

_What was Cassandra doing?_

“…and _then_ , I started working on these upgraded hot air balloons — I got the idea from the whole Sapporian debacle — and _man, are they fast_ …” Varian continued, jumping from invention to invention every dozen or so minutes.

Cassandra looked at him, curiosity gleaming in her bright eyes, encouraging him to continue his tangent. And continue his tangent he did.

 _Ah._ Zhan Tiri had finally realized. _So that’s what you’re doing._

While Varian was busy explaining the intricate details of his new machine, he failed to notice the small flash of guilt that was visible on Cassandra’s features, if only for a second.

_Well played, Cassandra. Well played._

**✧ ✧ ✧**

“Look, Quirin, I know he’s your son and all but maybe you should leave the rescuing to—”

“No. I’m going with you,” Quirin affirmed.

Eugene blinked. The older man looked exhausted, worn down from the stress he was recently subjected to upon learning about the circumstances surrounding his son’s recent disappearance. Not wanting to argue with the village leader, Eugene gave in with a simple nod.

“Okay then. Let’s do this.”

The group searched the area surrounding the Demanitus chamber thoroughly. After about an hour, they spread out even further. Unfortunately, there was very little to give them any indication as to where Cass and Varian had gone. Large paths composed of black rocks spread out in every direction from the chamber’s entrance, clearly done so in an attempt to confuse anyone who would try searching for the moonstone wielder and teenaged scientist. Furthermore, no footprints were able to be seen on the surface of the rocks, frustrating the group even more.

 _Where are you, Varian?_ Rapunzel thought desperately. _Where would Cass have taken you?_ She was drained, both physically and emotionally. The dark circles under her eyes were clearly visible now that they were in the sunlight, and her usually bright green eyes were dull and downcast.

“It’ll be okay, Sunshine,” Eugene comforted her, noticing her shiny front crumbling ever so slightly.

Rapunzel smiled up at him, glad to have someone to lean on. She always tried to be the sunny beam of positivity that would guide others, but it was often exhausting to keep up the morale of everyone else around her. But Eugene understood her, _saw_ her, and had always been the rock she could depend on. He had been patient with her feelings, had understood that emotions and relationships were still so very unfamiliar to the girl who’d been trapped in a tower for eighteen years of her life. A tower that _he_ had been the one to rescue her from.

 _The tower._ Rapunzel froze.

Eugene noticed the change in her expression. “Blondie? What’s up?”

Said blonde looked at him in realization.

“I know where they are.”

**✧ ✧ ✧**

Soon after their long-winded discussion had ended — with Varian doing most of the talking, of course — Cassandra left the cottage to get the two of them some food. Varian had stared at her longingly as she walked out of the room, silently contemplating whether he should say something to her before she left him alone.

 _We don’t need breakfast. We need to go home,_ he wanted to tell her. _Rapunzel would forgive you, I forgive you. You’d be welcomed back with open arms._

He watched as she got closer and closer to the room’s exit.

_You’re better than this. Come back with me, we all miss you._

Her figure approached the threshold, one leg already crossing the invisible line separating her childhood bedroom from the rest of the house.

_Please don’t go._

She left. And Varian held his tongue.

He mentally kicked himself for holding back. He really needed to talk to her, get her to see this wasn’t the right way to do things. In the conversation they’d just had, Varian had merely touched upon the circumstances surrounding Cassandra’s grudge. She hadn’t pushed him away, and had actually _listened_ to him. He hadn’t gone further because he feared she would shut him out, but he knew he’d have to do it eventually.

 _When she comes back,_ Varian told himself.

He relaxed slightly, and felt his eyelids beginning to droop. The exhaustion from the events of the last few hours, along with his previous lack of sleep, had begun to take its toll on his body. Varian shifted his body, trying to find a more comfortable way to lean against the stiff end of the bed. With the cuff around his wrist preventing him from moving around too much, finding a good position that didn’t strain his muscles too much proved to be a difficult task. Finally, Varian settled and closed his eyes slowly.

_A short nap would be nice._

**✧ ✧ ✧**

When Varian opened his eyes again, he found himself in a strange world illuminated by shades of pinks and purples. He moaned, his head feeling as if it would split in two at any minute.

_Where am I?_

“Well hello there,” a voice behind him said. Varian yelped. He turned slowly, and he was met with the image of a short girl in a dress, her hair tied in two neat buns. She seemed to be, well, _blue_ , but Varian wasn’t entirely sure. The realm he was in had him questioning everything he was seeing.

“Wh-Who are you?” he stammered, shaking slightly. Varian wasn’t sure why, but seeing the strange girl had overwhelmed him with an incredible amount of uneasiness.

“A friend,” the girl declared, smirking slightly. “Or at least I’d like to be.”

When Varian didn’t respond — _What do I even say to that?_ — the blue girl continued. “Although, I’m really only just testing something out for the moment. But I’ll be back to help you soon,” she smiled, her creepy grin sending shivers all along Varian’s body.

The realm suddenly shifted, and Varian felt nauseous. The world around him was tilting. Every time he turned, his surroundings seemed to speed up, spinning around him in a whirlwind of colours. He put both hands to his head in an attempt to stop the sick feeling growing in the pit of his stomach, but it did little to no good.

He whipped around, looking for the blue girl, only to find that she had disappeared. Green flames had suddenly erupted out of nowhere, and in his attempt to back away, Varian slipped off of the suspended platform he had been standing on.

He screamed as he fell, his voice echoing as he watched in vain as the ledge slipped further and further away from his view. Everything grew dark, and his mind felt as if it were being consumed by the green flames he’d so desperately tried to run from. Varian felt himself struggling to breathe, the suffocating darkness enveloping him as he tried to find a way out. Pain coursed throughout his body, and he felt himself cough, a small trail of a copper-like substance escaping from his lips.

Then, the darkness subsided, and he was blinded by a bright light.

 _Orange. There’s so much orange,_ Varian thought. He squinted, attempting to examine the strange colour he was looking at before reaching out to _touch it._ His hands made contact, and he felt the smooth surface of the orange _thing_ obstructing his view.

 _No,_ he realized with a sinking feeling. _Not orange. Amber._

He backed up slowly, the image of the amber he was previously so close to finally coming into view. He found himself paralyzed, staring up in horror at the sight before him. Seeing as how he regularly still dreamed of his father’s encasement, he was expecting to see him stuck in the amber.

Instead, Varian found himself looking at his friends — Keira, Catalina, Lance, Eugene, Rapunzel, and even _Ruddiger_ — all of them encased in the hideous substance and sporting expressions of terror. Their haunting gazes seemed to follow him, and Varian unfroze, backing away slowly. He was shaking uncontrollably now, wet tears forming in his eyes as he whispered, “No, no please…”

His retreating figure bumped into something hard and unmoving. Varian turned around, gasping in relief when he realized it was his father. “D-Dad!” he breathed, immediately rushing in to hug him. He had missed him so much. Quirin looked down at his trembling son, disappointment clear in his eyes. “Varian…what have you done?”

Varian looked up at him in shock, arms still around his father’s waist. “Wh-wha—”

Beneath his gloved hands, he felt Quirin’s body loosen, to the point where he started _slipping through Varian’s fingers._ Quirin's body had turned to ash, falling to the ground with a swift _whoosh_ as his only son clawed at the air, desperate to hold on to any remaining piece of him.

“DAD!! Dad, no!” he cried out, falling to his knees as the tears he had previously held back finally made their way down his freckled cheeks.

“It’s all your fault.”

Varian lifted his head to find Cassandra at eye-level, kneeling down across from him. She grabbed a handful of the ashes from the ground, and stood up. Clenching her fist, she glared down at him.

“You did this. _Face_ _your destiny_.”

Varian was paralyzed. “N-No I, I didn’t mean to—it w-was an ac-accide—”

“An accident?” Cassandra scoffed. “Everywhere you go, people get hurt. You put others at risk with your inventions, you ruined your father’s life with your recklessness, and you nearly destroyed a family out of pure spite. _That’s no accident._ ”

“N-no..Cass, I—” Varian trembled, tears cascading down his face much faster than before.

_She was right._

He was choking now, with breaths coming in too fast and thick, salty liquid slipping into his mouth. _She was right._

“You don’t _deserve_ forgiveness,” Cassandra spat, all the while unsheathing her sword. In a flash, she pulled her arm back and thrust it forward, making contact with the flesh of the boy in front of her. The sword ripped through his vest, piercing the skin underneath. Varian wheezed. Blood poured from the wound, and his senses were overwhelmed by a level of agony he’d never experienced before.

He looked up at the girl who’d just sliced through his entire being. “C-Cass—” he coughed, the blood dripping from his lips splattering onto his clothes and the sword still embedded in him.

Cassandra leaned in towards him, still gripping her sword.

_“I’m not the villain here.”_

Varian woke up screaming.

**𐄙─✧──𐄙────✧────𐄙──✧─𐄙**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, guess Cass learned a thing or two from her time with ZT. Namely, manipulation.  
> Ah the irony. O.O
> 
> Trippy dream sequences are *-*  
> I do like me some parallels O.O


	5. ham sandwiches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo I had to split this chapter again for consistency's sake xD 
> 
> I had SO MUCH FUN doing this one. I hope you guys will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it *_*  
> The second scene with Cass & Varian was my absolute favourite.  
> I swear I had to pause writing so many times just to laugh xD  
> 
> 
> ~ Questions, Comments & Criticisms Welcome! :D ~

**𐄙─✧──𐄙────✧────𐄙──✧─𐄙**

Growing up as the daughter of the Captain of the Royal Guard, Cassandra had learned the layout of the castle as well as Coronan protocols at an early age. The breakout with Rapunzel prior to her coronation had not been Cass’ first time sneaking out of the kingdom, nor would it seem to be her last.

In the past, her father had allowed her to practice with the new guard recruits. But Cass was ambitious. Whenever she wasn’t with the guards, she was climbing the Coronan walls, leaving the city behind in order to get some extra training done in the nearby woods. She did this every night for years, always slipping back in silently before her absence was taken note of.

Thanks to past experience, today’s Cassandra had no trouble making her way towards the castle unnoticed. She knew the layout of the entire capitol like the back of her hand, and she easily weaved her way through the streets using the desolate alleyways she was all too familiar with. Her keen senses often warned her of any oncoming passerby, but Cass would still have plenty of time to dart down another passage in order to conceal herself. As she neared the castle, her eyes caught sight of a wooden display board at the corner of the street. Curiously drawn to it, Cass approached, ready to absorb the information contained on the many pieces of paper that usually littered the board.

She frowned. _Something is off,_ she thought. _It’s almost empty._

All of her life, Cassandra had always known Corona’s display boards to be filled, overflowing even, with the many announcements for upcoming events. If there’s one thing Corona did right, it was festivals. Strangely though, Cass saw no such promotions for _anything._

 _Not even for the Goodwill Festival?_ She was shocked. She knew it would be coming up soon, and it was one of Corona’s most highly anticipated events. _Why wouldn’t they announce it?_

Cass’ eyes trailed over to the left hand side of the board, focusing on the few papers that had remained on it. Her muscles stiffened as she recognized a familiar drawing. _Oh. That’s why._

Cassandra stared angrily at a picture of her own self, scowling back at her from a piece of parchment with the word _TRAITOR_ painted in blood-red towards the bottom. It seemed the kingdom was so terrified of her that they’d decided to hold off on all of their festivals for the time being, probably because they didn’t feel safe even within their own walls. Cass didn’t blame them for being scared, considering her red rocks had threatened the Coronans not that long ago. But labelling her a traitor, a villain, even?

The red rocks had been an accident, for the most part. She hadn’t _intended_ for them to spring up in the kingdom, she was merely trying to learn basic control over her newfound abilities. She’d only really pressed on when she'd touched one of the rocks and had sensed Rapunzel’s presence. _Rapunzel. Somehow it always came back to her,_ Cassandra thought bitterly.

 _It’s not my fault, none of it is._ She had only just noticed her hand had ripped down the poster from the board, her shaking fingers clenching it tightly.

_It’s her fault._

An odd mixture of anger and denial coursed through her, fuelling her resentment towards the Princess even more. Cass let go of the poster she had stiffly grabbed on to and turned, preparing to take the next step towards her journey to the castle…only to find herself looking down into a pair of wide, chocolate brown eyes.

A young girl in a blue dress stood not three feet away from her, staring at her in shock. She was oddly familiar, her dark hair and the flower embedded in it resonating with Cass as the realization slowly dawned on her. She was that girl, the one who’d seen her training before the Challenge of the Brave. The one who’d been in the crowd later, watching her.

 _No,_ she remembered sourly. _Not me._

She’d been cheering on Rapunzel. Even during Cass’ training, the girl and the two other boys with her had darted over to the Princess as soon as she’d arrived. The Princess, who’d joined the competition last minute, the one that she’d been waiting for for _so long_ , had taken away her chance to shine yet again. Cassandra glared at the child before her. She stared back, her eyes darting between Cass’ real face and its painted counterpart pinned onto the display board.

In the distance, Cassandra heard footsteps approaching, nearing her vulnerable position on the street’s corner. Before the girl could utter a single word to her, Cassandra decided to utilize the moment to take her leave.

She ran, continuing on the path she’d set out to follow without looking back once.

**✧ ✧ ✧**

Varian’s eyes shot open, his scream echoing throughout the abandoned cottage. He gasped, his lungs desperately seeking the oxygen his panicked state had deprived him of. His entire being was shaken to the core, traumatized beyond reason.

 _It was just a dream._ Varian repeated those fives words to himself like a mantra, over and over until he felt his heart rate slow down, beating in time to the ticking of the grandfather clock against the wall. He repeated that phrase, but didn’t believe a word of it.

Varian lifted his unrestrained hand to his face, wiping away the tears on his cheeks and the small bit of drool that had escaped from his open mouth during his sleep. With all physical evidence of his harrowing nightmare gone, the alchemist focused on his emotional stability. _Breathe in, breathe out,_ he instructed himself. The trembling had stopped for the time being, but Varian couldn’t help but feel as if the atmosphere from his dream had somehow followed him back to reality. He also couldn’t shake the chilling feeling that he was being watched. Ever since his kidnapping, Varian had felt strangely _haunted_ , as if he were being graced with the presence of some _thing_ wherever he went _._

His head perked up at the sound of creaking. Varian listened intently, his calmed heart picking up speed once again.

 _Creak._ There it was again. He heard the echoes of silent scuffling and muted footsteps, as if the mysterious intruder were trying to stifle themselves in an attempt to remain undiscovered. Varian didn’t know what to think. _Was it just an animal who had taken up refuge in the house?_ The sound of an audible _thump_ was heard, followed by a muffled curse.

_Nope, definitely not an animal._

Varian became hopeful all of a sudden, thinking that perhaps it was someone coming to rescue him from captivity. _But why would they be trying so hard to be quiet?_ His thoughts were interrupted by another sound, one that crushed his theory and caused a sick feeling to grow in the pit of his stomach. He heard the sound of metal, scraping against whatever surface it had lightly brushed against. Someone had unsheathed a weapon.

 _Was it a looter?_ Varian had begun to worry now. _No, no one had been here in years. There's no way someone would show up now._

He was growing increasingly anxious. _Maybe this time it really is an ax murderer. Look around, Varian. You’re in the middle of the woods, in a creepy house!_

Maybe it was the lack of proper rest. Maybe it was the residual paranoia that still lingered from his earlier nightmare. Or maybe it was a combination of both.

Either way, Varian panicked.

As he heard the quiet footsteps approaching the room’s entrance, he grabbed the closest object he could find and prepared to hurl it full-force at his oncoming attacker. The minute his mind registered the shape of a figure entering the doorway, Varian flung his goggles.

Unfortunately for him, the weakness that was his physical strength was evident in the way in which his pitch fell short. _Extremely_ short. His goggles fell to the ground around halfway between himself and the doorway.

The good news? The intruder had not been expecting the loud _clunk_ that had resulted from the clumsy throwing attempt. 

“GAHHHHH!” a voice yelped, its owner jumping back only to trip over her own feet and come crashing to the ground.

With both of the room’s occupants now sitting on the ground, the two pairs of startled blue eyes finally met.

“Cass?” Varian squeaked.

Cassandra stared at him in shock. “ _What in the world are you doing?!_ ” she nearly screeched.

“ _What the heck are_ _you_ _doing?!_ ” Varian shrieked back. “ _I thought someone was trying to kill me_.”

“ _WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT?_ ”

“Because someone was sneaking around! And I heard you take out your sword. _Why would you do that?!_ ” Varian demanded.

“I thought you might’ve fallen asleep, so I didn’t want to wake you!” Cass shot back. She looked a little embarrassed. “And, well…the sword was for the food. I didn’t have anything else to cut the sandwiches with.”

For the first time, Varian took notice of the tray brimming with food that lay on the floor next to Cassandra. Somehow, she had managed to keep her grip on the metal object steady even as she fell, preventing its contents from falling off.

Cassandra had calmed down now, no longer shocked at having a flying _whatever it was_ chucked at her moments earlier. “So…what exactly was your plan?” she asked.

Now it was Varian’s turn to be embarrassed. “Uhhh…I was…defending myself?” The boy muttered awkwardly. “I uh…I thought you were somebody else…like… _a forest-wandering sociopath._ ”

Cass looked towards the goggles on the floor, noting the rather wide distance between the object and herself. She raised an eyebrow. “I hate to disappoint you kid, but if it really were somebody else then you’d long be dead.”

But Varian was no longer paying attention to her. His eyes had returned to the tray of delicious food that seemed to be calling out to him. His stomach rumbled.

“What kind of sandwiches did you say they were?”

**✧ ✧ ✧**

Elsewhere, the sound of galloping hooves could be heard, echoing throughout the trees.

Rapunzel’s realization regarding Cassandra’s possible whereabouts had spurred on the group intent on finding the missing alchemist. As they rode onwards, leaves crunched beneath them eerily like snapping bones, and the overcast sky seemed to taunt the group.

Their destination slowly came into view, and the group silently dismounted from their horses, staring at the scene that lay before them.

The ruins of Rapunzel’s prison lay scattered, obsidian-coloured rocks jaggedly interrupting the landscape of the haunting wreckage. Eugene grasped onto Rapunzel’s hand in an attempt to reassure her. The last time they were here, they were being chased by guards and Rapunzel had watched as the place she’d spent the first eighteen years of her life broke apart before her.

And, well, the time before that, Eugene had been stabbed by an old witch.

So to say the place made them feel uncomfortable was an understatement.

The group approached the ruins apprehensively, save for Quirin. The older man practically rushed forward, already calling out to his son.

Lance reached out to stop him, but to no avail.

“VARIAN!” Quirin’s eyes searched desperately for a sign, any sign, that his son was here. That bucktoothed smile, his freckled face, that familiar mop of black-and-teal hair with his iconic goggles sitting atop his head. But he found nothing.

The rest of the group spread out, covering as much ground as they could. They searched and searched, but after awhile, there was an unspoken realization that passed between them.

There was nobody here.

Rapunzel’s heart sank as she watched her friend’s distraught father torture himself by endlessly crying out for his son.

Eugene walked over to him, putting an arm on his shoulder. “Quirin, he’s not—”

“Varian!” Quirin continued with a wavering voice, ignoring the younger man. “Son, where are you?”

“Quirin, please listen to me,” Eugene tried again, despair lacing his voice. “He’s not here.”

Quirin was shaking. _This couldn’t be happening._ This was the only lead they’d had on Varian thus far, and he was nowhere to be found. He was overwhelmed, nearly collapsing onto one of the black rocks. Eugene sat with him, feeling almost as distraught as Quirin.

Varian had become almost like a brother to him recently, and he hated not knowing where the kid was and whether or not he was even okay. Eugene didn’t like to think that Cass would do anything to truly hurt him, but the lack of knowing _anything_ made it hard not to worry.

“You guys! I think we found something,” Keira’s voice abruptly called out to the rest of the group.

Lance, Quirin, Eugene, and Rapunzel made their way over to where Keira and Catalina had been searching. They all came to a full stop, breaths caught in their throats.

“Is that…” Rapunzel started.

Spread out onto one of the black rocks were various vials and test tubes filled with colourful substances. Not far away from its contents lay the bag from which the objects had fallen out of, seemingly having been dropped onto the ground.

But here it was.

Proof that the boy they were searching for had been there.

“ _It’s Varian’s,_ ” Quirin breathed.

**✧ ✧ ✧**

It had been a long while since Varian had had a truly amazing, honest-to-goodness ham sandwich. Content with experiencing a sense of familiarity in his rather unfamiliar environment, he sat on the ground across from his kidnapper, chewing happily. The silence between them was a comfortable one, with both the alchemist and moonstone wielder embracing the other’s presence.

“ _Mmmmhh,_ Cass, this is _so good,_ ” Varian praised, his words muffled by the food in his mouth. When she’d said she was going out to get food, he’d expected an assortment of wild berries or game from the forest. He _definitely_ didn’t think he’d be getting _sandwiches._ Varian stopped chewing for a minute, the implication of Cassandra’s actions sinking in.

_She’d gone back to the kingdom._

But there was no way she’d go back just for the food, right? Cass wasn’t the type to risk exposure for something silly like that. _There must have been another reason._ Varian wanted to ask her, but before he could open his mouth Cassandra stood up, brushing off any stray crumbs that might have fallen onto her armour-clad body.

“Varian, I’m going to have to leave you alone again,” she said, her voice just barely hiding the guilt she felt for what she was about to do.

Varian was surprised. “What? Why?” he blurted out a bit too fast.

Cassandra couldn’t meet his eyes. “I have to…go get something. I should be back by tonight, it’s still pretty early in the morning and the journey shouldn’t take me too long,” she replied.

_Not anymore, at least._

But Varian was still confused. He thought he’d gotten through to her, somewhat, in their earlier conversation. Even during breakfast the pair of them had sat, eating their sandwiches like they were simply two old friends enjoying a morning out together. He didn’t understand.

“ _You’re not going to let me go?_ ”

 _Curse that serum._ Why Varian ever thought it was a good idea to keep a vial of it in his bag was beyond him.

Cassandra looked down at him, her features hesitating. Her inner self told her that he was right, she _should_ let him go. Let him go home to his father, his friends, Ruddiger. Keeping him here was cruel. But somewhere inside her, another, much darker voice chimed in.

_But you need that incantation. You need that power, you need a destiny._

_Without it, you’re nothing._

“No,” she told him firmly, but still slightly unsure in her decision. “I can’t. Not unless you’re going to willingly give me that incantation.”

Somewhere inside, Varian felt the serum fighting against his body once again. Even if it wasn’t a direct question, the unhealthy amount of the liquid that he had ingested — _Had Cass given him the entire bottle?!_ —intensified its intended effect. This meant that even someone _hinting_ at wanting to know something caused intense spasms of pain to circulate inside his body, if he refused to comply. But Varian held his breath, wincing rather than crying out.

“I can’t do that.”

Cassandra stared at him sadly. “I thought so,” she sighed. She turned to take her leave, before being stopped by the teenager for the second time.

“Wait!” he called out desperately. With her back still turned away from him, Cassandra flinched, her doubtful expression hidden.

Varian paused. _It’s now or never._ He had to try to reason with her, show her that _this wasn’t right_ , that she would regret her actions if she didn’t stop now.

“Look, Cass…I’ve been there. The path of hate, well, it’s a dark one. But once you start on it, it gets increasingly harder to turn back. You get pulled along, _knowing_ what you’re doing is wrong, but it just _feels so right._ But it’s hard, Cass. It’s hard to live in the shadows, especially alone, and it’s even harder to find your way back towards the light.” Pained, sorrowful eyes bore their way into Cassandra’s hesitant back. Varian was speaking from experience, regretful words trying to reason with his captor.

“You lose all sense of morality, you lose control…and you lose yourself,” he continued sadly.

 _Maybe he was right._ Cassandra was still deliberating with herself. He seemed to understand her, and the internal struggle she was facing regarding all of her decisions since she had grabbed the moonstone. The dark thoughts, the questioning of her own morals, the sense of loss. He seemed to understand it all. Maybe, just maybe, she didn’t need to—

“Cass, trust me. Becoming the villain _isn’t the answe_ —”

And Cassandra snapped. She whirled around angrily, looking down at the boy on the ground. “ _Is that what you think I am?_ ” she spat, betrayal clear in her voice. _Him, understand me?_

Varian was taken aback. He hadn’t intended to offend her, he had merely wanted to show her that they were similar. “Cass, I—”

“No. _I’m not the villain here._ I know my path is dark, and I know you don’t agree with what I’m doing. But at least _I know_ that my actions aren’t in the wrong. Is it wrong to want to have a little power? To want respect? To want to finally be _heard?_ No, it’s not. I’ve been pushed aside for others for far too long, always left waiting in the background for _my_ chance to step up. No more. I’m not backing down now.”

Cassandra glared at Varian, her words now spewing venom at the boy.

“And you and I, _we’re not the same._ You lost the game. You were a pathetic mess who lashed out at everyone, whose plan fell apart as soon as his emotions got the better of him. You, _you encased your father in amber_. But me, I _chose_ this. I’m _choosing_ to rise above, to leave behind the people who’ve held me back from my destiny _with chains._ ”

She was shaking now, her irrational anger consuming all of her senses.

“Cass, listen, please,” Varian pleaded. “You have _so much_ to hold onto. All’s not lost, you still have people who care about you. _I_ care about you! So please, don’t be blinded by resentment, _we can still fix this._ ”

“You care about me?” Cassandra scoffed, her voice darkening even further. “Varian, _I used you._ ”

Her words sent chills down Varian’s back, and his heart plummeted. “Wh-What are you..?” he stammered, still not quite understanding.

“Oh please, don’t be so _naïve._ Did you really think I actually _enjoyed_ listening to you ramble on about your stupid inventions? What, did you think that I _liked_ spending time with you?” Cassandra laughed, an icy cackle echoing throughout the silent room. “Don’t kid yourself. I only needed to know whether you had actually come up with something worthwhile that I could use.”

Varian’s head was spinning. _This couldn’t be happening._ “What did you—”

“The balloon,” Cassandra responded, smirking. “You went on and on about how fast it was. You even told me where you’d been keeping it in the castle. As for operating it, well, I found a _convenient_ set of instructions inside the basket, probably because — as you yourself had told me — you were now accustomed to labelling and writing everything down, in order to avoid another bath bomb incident. So thank you, for that.” _She’s mocking me._

Varian felt sick. This entire time, he had been so intent on getting through to Cassandra, desperately clinging to any last shred of kindness she seemed to display, that he had been blindly deceived. She now had a fast-moving hot air balloon— _his_ balloon — in her possession, and she was planning on using it to go to _god knows where._

Wherever it was, it was nowhere good.

Cassandra held a grudge against Rapunzel and now, thanks to Varian, she now had something else she could potentially use against her. He had probably put her life in danger _yet again._

_It’s always your fault. When will you stop ruining people’s lives?_

Varian was frozen, paralyzed by guilt and hurt.

Cassandra made her way to the edge of the room, her mind finally made up. She turned back, catching a glimpse of the distraught boy whose wide, disbelieving eyes stared ahead of him, still reeling from his former friend’s harsh betrayal.

 _“You have to be careful who you trust,”_ she spat bitterly.

And with that, Cassandra turned away from him for the final time and left the room, all the while suppressing the urge to glance back once more.

_Now, I have nothing left to lose._

**𐄙─✧──𐄙────✧────𐄙──✧─𐄙**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CASS NOOOO--  
> i'm really sorry UwU
> 
> So, I've just kinda been sprinkling in some canonic elements (but with a twist) into this fic. I really liked the concept of Corona's festivals being put on hold because of Cass, which they used in Once a Handmaiden, and I thought her finding out about it at this point (along with seeing that poster) would actually intensify her grudge. Also, that little girl from Challenge of the Brave! *_*  
> And the red rocks thing I thought would just be a nice touch, considering BVA kinda portrayed them as being unintentional at first.
> 
> and yes, i'm totally stealing lyrics from Nothing Left to Lose & Ready As I'll Ever Be as well as some classic character quotes & just twisting them for my story *_*
> 
> Writing that last scene really did destroy me though, so...RIP.


	6. mind trapped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really went ham on that last chapter, eh?  
> please don't kill me, i like puns O.O
> 
> So sorry for the wait on this chappie!! Had to write six million essays since my online classes just started up (i procrastinated for 3 weeks though so that's on me), & I'm involved in so many projects right now it's ridiculous! xD
> 
> also been massively obsessing over Anna & Kait's Varian spinoff content so yeah--i'm a mess of emotions right now
> 
> but i am actually immensely proud of how this part turned out, & it's my favourite chapter to date! so yay me for improved writing!:D
> 
> Enjoy~

**𐄙─✧──𐄙────✧────𐄙──✧─𐄙**

Over the course of the next few hours, Rapunzel and the rest of the group continued their search for Varian. They scoured the area extending outwards from the tower’s ruins, splitting up into pairs to spread out in multiple directions so as not to miss anything. They had all felt it earlier, each and every one of them: that sense of utter despair that had been lingering in the air.

Defeat had clung to them, dragging down each and every one of their spirits even further down into that dark abyss of dejection. The group had just about been ready to give up hope.

But then, they’d found it. A lead. Granted, it wasn’t much, Eugene had remarked, staring at the scattered tubes of fluorescent chemicals dispersed onto the rock before them. _But it was something._

No matter how small their find was, the implication it provided was enough to spur on the previously-disheartened group, and they continued their search with increasing determination. They would find him. They _had_ to. Cassandra couldn’t have taken Varian much farther away, right?

Rapunzel furrowed her brows, perplexed. _But why had she gone there in the first place?_

Varian’s supplies had been so carelessly discarded at the scene, giving off the impression that someone had left them there either mistakenly or because they didn’t care if they were discovered. Had Cass somehow been expecting them? If so, why was she no longer there?

Anxiety-ridden questions burned through Rapunzel’s skull, worrying her even more. _Had there been a change of plan?_ She knew Cassandra wanted to fight her, and had wanted to use the Third Incantation in order to do so.

Rapunzel paused in the midst of her search, freckles suddenly becoming more distinct as her complexion paled. _Varian hasn’t given the incantation to her yet._

The only reason Cassandra had fled the scene and continued to harbour the alchemist was because he had resisted whatever she’d done to try to get him to talk. If she’d already had it, Rapunzel was certain that Cassandra would either come looking for her or make her own whereabouts known.

Rapunzel grit her teeth in frustration, flicking the reins in her tense hands to urge the horse she was riding on to move faster. Her eyes fluttered through the trees, tirelessly hunting for a glimpse of _anything_ other than the green that encompassed her as she rode.

The longer Varian stayed missing, the more Rapunzel’s uneasiness grew. _I don’t like this._ Emerald eyes desperately continued to scan their surroundings. _I don’t like this at all._ Rapunzel rode on with a heavy heart, searching continuously without ever halting once to take a break.

But it was futile. Despite her best efforts, Varian remained nowhere to be found.

**✧ ✧ ✧**

Cassandra leaned back in the wicker basket of the high-powered balloon currently slicing through clouds at an alarming speed. She knew Varian had made some upgrades to the Sapporians’ original design, but she was still flabbergasted. He’d somehow managed to increase the balloon’s speed to one she’d never thought possible, dramatically cutting down the amount of time she’d predicted it would take her to reach the Spire.

 _He really is a genius_.

Lost in thought, memories of a younger, slightly-in-love-with-her Varian implementing his scientific knowledge in order to help her with something as trivial as her chores flooded Cassandra’s mind. The corners of her mouth turned upwards only for a moment as she remembered how he’d spent hours running around, exhausting himself completely, simply so that she could have a chance at having her first guard assignment.

Cassandra folded the balloon’s operating instructions and placed the piece of parchment into a brown satchel she’d brought along with her. She thought back to the day she’d first met Varian, and how he’d nearly gotten himself killed because he’d tried to bring the people of Old Corona hot, running water. It almost seemed as if the boy had an irrepressible need to help others as best he could with the skills he had to offer; so much so that he often engaged in acts of recklessness and disregarded his own safety.

Despite Varian’s best efforts, unfortunately, his endeavours always seemed to result in disaster. _Just like now._

A small twinge of guilt caused Cassandra to falter in thought. Was she really doing the right thing? Had her last words to him been too harsh? Deep down inside, she knew that manipulating Varian like that had been a low blow. _But it was necessary. How else would you have been able to get to the Spire so quickly?_

Cassandra felt her stomach knotting up as she remembered the reason she was headed to the Spire in the first place. The Mind Trap.

She knew it wasn’t fair, that it was _cruel_ even, to bring Quirin into this. Cassandra wasn’t planning on using the Mind Trap for anything too drastic; if showing the artifact to Varian wouldn’t be enough, she would just use it to summon Quirin to their location. Any simple action would be sufficient proof that she could do _anything_ to his father, if she really wanted to. By exerting her full control over Quirin, Cassandra was certain she would scare Varian into finally giving up the incantation she so desperately wanted.

But she also knew that it might break him. Varian had already been traumatized by his father’s year-long entrapment in the amber, and there was a high chance he would blame himself for his father’s predicament yet again. Could she really live with herself if her actions caused him even _more_ emotional distress?

Cassandra shook herself, erasing any sympathetic feelings she still clung to in regards to her former friend. She couldn’t turn back now, not when she was so close to getting what she wanted. Cassandra turned her cyan orbs upwards, making eye contact with the various snow-topped mountains jutting out from the eerie landscape before her. The cool air brought gusts of wind that raked through her teal hair soothingly, and a soft breeze tickled her bare neck. Cassandra shivered slightly, but her firm gaze remained unmoving.

It would all be worth it, in the end.

**✧ ✧ ✧**

Ever since the girl now soaring away in a stolen balloon had left her gloomy cottage behind, her young prisoner had been attempting to free himself from the bond still anchoring him to said cottage.

“GYAH!”

Varian struggled with his single cuff in a futile attempt to escape from its stiff clutches. Initially, he’d just jerked his arm around wildly, yanking at the restraint as if he actually believed he could somehow tear it straight out of the bed frame. When he realized his efforts were clearly in vain, Varian gave up the tugging and let his chafed wrist dangle loosely. It was time for a new strategy.

He eyed the cuff accusingly, staring at it for a few seconds before he decided, rather impulsively, to just straight up _punch it._

About a millisecond before his knuckles made contact, Varian remembered too late that his cuff was, in fact, _made of the black rocks._ The very same black rocks that, so far, had proven to be nearly indestructible.

“GAHH!”

He yelped shrilly as the force of his fist connecting with the hard surface caused a flare of pain to reverberate all throughout his left arm. He could almost _hear_ the whispers of a crack in his strained bones at the time of impact. Varian moaned regretfully as he tried to soothe the pounding in his injured hand by grasping it with his normal one.

Although he couldn’t see the damage inflicted due to his glove, he was certain the skin underneath was purple and would _remain_ purple for at least a week. _Ugh, so dumb, Varian._

Why did he even think that might work? Sleep. It was definitely because of his lack of sleep. A creak from somewhere within the house sounded, startling the alchemist so much so that his head slammed backwards as he jumped slightly, banging into the frame of the bed almost instantaneously.

“Ow-ow-ow-ow—OW!”

Varian grumbled, his bruised hand abandoning its current position in order to clutch the back of his head instead. His day really just kept getting worse. Not only did he seem to constantly be subjected to injuries and traumatic nightmares, but he’d allowed a vital piece of technology to fall into the hands of one of the most dangerous people in the kingdom.

Varian sighed, mulling over the endless possibilities as to what Cassandra could be using his invention for at this very moment.

He was angry at her. She’d drugged him, kidnapped him, imprisoned him in this creepy house, manipulated him, and then proceeded to abandon him in the middle of nowhere while he was still unable to leave the room. Cassandra had said she’d be back by nightfall, but Varian didn’t exactly trust anything she’d said anymore. Who’s to say she wouldn’t just leave him here to die?

Varian shivered, unsettling thoughts of dying a slow and agonizing death on the cold floor of Gothel’s home invading his mind.

If Cassandra didn’t come back, he’d die of starvation or dehydration. Or, if the haunting thoughts and nightmares kept up, he’d simply lose his sanity before he’d eventually succumb to the cold embrace of death. Varian shook his head, trying to subconsciously swim away from the overwhelming sense of dread he felt he might drown in.

 _No,_ he affirmed. _I’m being irrational. I’m not going to die here, Rapunzel’s going to come for me._ A pause.

His own voice rang through his head again, this time sounding more taunting than reassuring.

 _Are you_ **_sure_ ** _about that? The Sundrop’s going to come for you, just as she came for you the_ **_last time_ ** _you needed help?_

Varian hesitated. His mind became clouded, overcome with immense fatigue as his body cried out in exhaustion for the second time in the last few hours. Although he tried to fight it at first, Varian eventually gave in to the sweet murmurs of sleep that beckoned him to close his eyes and allow his soul to wander aimlessly through the dreamscape.

From the corner of the room, a huge pair of frightening blue eyes watched as the alchemist slumped against the bed frame, already snoring softly with his mouth slightly open. “ _Finally_ ,” Zhan Tiri muttered to herself, the beginnings of a chilling smirk already creeping its way onto her face. _I thought he’d never fall asleep._

Zhan Tiri had initially followed Cassandra outside after she’d stormed out from the house, and had tried to convince her, _yet again_ , that there were other, far more convenient ways to get information out of someone than what she was doing. But Cassandra had argued with her, claiming she didn’t want to become the villain she was already accused of being. So, the ancient demon had stayed behind.

If Cassandra was foolish enough to risk capture and spend hours travelling to retrieve an artifact whose full power she refused to use, just so she could avoid having to physically threaten the boy, then it was evident that Zhan Tiri herself would have to take matters into her own hands. The boy’s resolve was strong, seeing as how he was still resisting the effects of the truth serum, and she didn’t want to risk everything on Cassandra’s foolhardy attempt at getting him to talk.

If her plan to use the Mind Trap wouldn’t work, then Zhan Tiri wouldn’t even have a chance to try _her own method_.

But Cassandra witnessing that would not only cause distrust, but it would also lead to the discovery of her true identity. With Zhan Tiri's current lack of a physical form, this was a risk she was _not_ willing to take. If she wanted to get the incantation without being exposed, this was the only opening she had. A sickening look overtook her translucent facial features, and Zhan Tiri gazed at the sleeping form on the ground with carnivorous eyes.

Varian dozed on, finally engulfed by a peaceful rest for the first time in what felt like weeks.

Little did he know, he would have been better off if he’d stayed awake.

**✧ ✧ ✧**

The scorching sun shone down on Cassandra, its rays reflecting off of her armour-clad figure in spades of light as she snuck up to Calliope’s residence. The heat was wearing her down, slowing her movement slightly as she ascended the hill. Even her appearance seemed to have been personally attacked by the sun; her usually pale skin appeared almost white now, giving her visage a deathly pallor.

She finally made it to the top, and Cassandra stared at the twin cylindrical buildings towering before her. With a scrunched-up face, she recalled her previous encounter with Calliope the last time she’d come here with Rapunzel and the rest of their caravan-bound group. To put it in the nicest way possible, she _hated_ the arrogant ginger.

Her condescending attitude, snobbiness, irritating magic tricks, even her stupid glasses…Cassandra despised everything about her. She decided right then and there that she would do everything in her power to avoid interacting with her. Even if it meant tweaking her original plan, Cassandra was dead-set on steering clear of Calliope during her mission.

If she had to listen to her snarky voice drawl out the word _Spire_ one more time, Cassandra was afraid she’d do something that would _actually_ warrant her face being on a _Wanted_ poster.

After she’d successfully managed to climb in through the nearest window, Cassandra tiptoed through the building, careful to pay attention to even the slightest of sounds so as not to be caught off guard. It wasn’t that Calliope herself was threatening — not in the least — but she didn’t want to risk having an alarm raised and her thievery reported. She had absolutely no idea where Rapunzel was leading the search for Varian, but if she got wind of her current whereabouts there was a possibility that she could be caught.

And, without the Third Incantation at her disposal, there would also be a chance that she would not win against her blonde-haired enemy and her friends.

Cassandra found her way into a vast, circular room filled with all sorts of ancient-looking artifacts. Cobwebs covered the dusty frames that hung on the walls, and the smell of damp wood lingered in the air. Several tomes were sprawled out all over the floor, propped up next to various displays.

In one corner of the room, a podium presented a figurine of a demon-like creature underneath a glass cover. Across from it, other glass cases protected different relics possessing unknown powers. Cassandra was just about to leave the room to continue her search when one item in particular caught her eye. It was a dark cloak, shimmering on its bronze pedestal like a trophy just _waiting_ to be claimed by a worthy victor.

The blue girl had mentioned something about this cloak, when she’d told her about the Mind Trap some time ago. It had the ability to conceal its wearer and disguise them as whomever they desired. _It could come in handy,_ she mused. Before she could rethink her decision, Cassandra snatched the cloak from its tempting display, swiftly replacing it with the non-magical look-alike she was currently wearing.

By the time Calliope would take any notice of the swap— _if_ she ever even noticed — she’d have long put it to good use.

Cassandra moved on, silently hunting for the key to the Mind Trap’s protective box in the remaining rooms. At last, she arrived at the room she was searching for: Calliope’s personal bedroom. Cass was certain that with her nature, Calliope would never assume someone would actually manage to steal from _her_ , the great Keeper of the _Spire_. So, logically, why would someone so confident bother to hide a key?

Cassandra made her way over to the bedside table and— _bingo._ There it was.

Sitting atop the nightstand like some invaluable trinket was the gleaming key to the Mind Trap’s box. She knew Calliope was arrogant, but _really?_ She hadn’t even bothered keeping it inside the drawer? Cassandra scoffed, picking up the key as she did so. _Oh well._

Suddenly, muffled footsteps from the floor above could be heard heading towards the staircase. The annoyingly loud sounds of the pitter-pattering steps could only have come from Calliope herself. Cassandra took this as her cue to leave. Silent as the grave, she slipped out through the same window she’d used to enter. Her feet dropped onto the ground below, and she looked up at the looming Spire in the distance.

The most difficult part of her excursion was over; now all she had to do was climb one more hill, sneak inside one more building, and steal one more thing. And this time, she didn’t even have to worry about getting caught.

**✧ ✧ ✧**

Everything was fine, at first.

Varian had a dreamless sleep, a rare occurrence for him as he often found himself either sleep-deprived or nightmare-ridden. His body had even managed to relax somewhat, despite his extenuating circumstances. A relative peace washed over him, and for the first time since he was taken by Cassandra he felt completely at ease.

Varian felt almost as if the entire experience itself were just an endless nightmare, and that he would wake up at any moment to find himself either slumped over his notes in the Demanitus Chamber with Ruddiger curled up next to him, or in his warm bed in Old Corona with his father sleeping in a room just down the hall.

The idea brought him solace during his temporary rest and — for just a single, brief moment — he was happy.

But then the shadows came.

Without warning, darkness curled in on him, and ink-like pins punctured the fleeting bubble of comfort he had struggled so hard to wedge himself into. The air was heavy, weighing down on him like a thousand bricks that dragged him further and further into an inescapable void of despair. Varian gasped, his lungs utterly crushed by the imposing presence, his inability to draw even a whiff of air into his body sending him into a frenzied panic. Just as he thought he would pass out from the lack of oxygen, the agonizing pressure lifted.

Varian coughed, violently hacking as his raspy breaths came out in spasms. He’d barely had time to stabilize himself before he felt the familiar feeling of the invisible ground beneath him giving out, and he was sent plummeting towards an unknown demise.

He landed on his back, hard. The fall winded him, and his recently-regained breaths had seemingly escaped him once again. Dazed, Varian stood up in the midst of the surrounding darkness. Everywhere he turned, it was pitch black. No source of light, absolutely nothing that could indicate a possible exit from the incomprehensible realm that he had stumbled into. He couldn’t tell which way was which, and whether a sense of direction even existed in whatever dimension this was.

With no leads, Varian decided to simply _start walking._ It didn’t matter where he went— anywhere would be better than here, where he felt as if he would suffocate if he lingered any longer.

He had only taken a single step from his current position when he heard it: the resounding echoes of footsteps. He faltered, turning his head every which way in an attempt to locate the origin of the sound; but the _clicks_ and _clacks_ were coming from _everywhere,_ almost as if he were trapped inside the centre of a giant dome. Maybe someone had finally come to rescue him. _Rapunzel_ , Varian hoped for a fleeting moment, before his dubiousness overtook the thought.

He was still searching for the person responsible for the rather loud footsteps when a voice from behind startled him.

“Varian.”

He whirled around, shocked to find himself face-to-face with his kidnapper. “Cass? What are you doing here? And where _is_ here?”

She stared at him mutely with blank, unmoving eyes. Her cyan irises gazed right through him, sending electric chills through his tense body. It was unnerving.

“What’d you do with my hot-air balloon? What are you planning?”

Cassandra made no move to answer any of his questions; her body remained stiff and her frozen demeanour caused her to appear all the more haunting given the current atmosphere.

But Varian’s patience had worn thin. He’d grown tired of Cassandra’s villain act, tired of being dragged around and used like he were an old sock puppet, tired of not knowing what the heck was going on. He was worn out both physically and emotionally, growing increasingly desperate to escape whatever hell he was currently stuck in. Varian didn’t have time to play games; _especially_ not with Cassandra, who had done nothing but mistreat him for the entirety of the last day.

He reached out and grabbed her shoulders with both hands, shaking her angrily.

“Cassandra! _Answer me, or so help me—_ ”

“Why did you do it?”

Varian paused his movements, momentarily surprised that Cassandra had finally shaken out of her stupor. His irritation dropped slightly, giving way to his newfound puzzlement. “Do what?”

Glassy, soulless eyes shifted to meet the alchemist’s confused ones. “Try to murder me.”

Cassandra’s sharp words and accusing tone plunged a dagger into Varian’s chest. He felt his heart freeze, and a numbing paralysis begin to creep its way along his spine. His blood ran cold, and his brain struggled to find the right words to articulate his jumbled thoughts. “I—I didn’t—” he stuttered, staggering backwards a little.

Varian took a deep breath. “I…I didn’t mean to. At the time, yeah, I was _angry._ I was so blinded by rage that I took it out on everyone who just happened to be there. But that wasn’t fair of me, it was never your fault. I really hurt you. And for that…Cass, I’m really sorry.”

Cassandra blinked slowly, her gaze steadily turning steely, a flicker of rage now present in her features. The moonstone embedded in her chest gleamed wickedly as she rounded on him. “ _Sorry?_ You really think that’s gonna cut it?”

Varian’s expression fell as his repressed doubts suddenly turned into reality. _She really_ ** _does_** _still hate me for that._ His dulled blue-grey eyes were now cast downwards, boring holes into the pitch black of the shadowy ground. “No, of course not…I don’t—I don’t expect you to forgive me. I did a horrible thing. But I really do want you to know how sorry—”

His apology was cut short by an abrupt flash of pain as he felt himself being sent crashing to the floor. Varian retched, wheezing profusely as his muddled mind tried to piece together what had just happened. _Cassandra had kneed him in the stomach._ He clutched the injured area with one of his hands and winced as he pressed down on what was most certainly a new bruise. _And she’d kneed him hard._ The spot where her knee had made contact with his flesh had erupted into fiery agony, and he stared up at her in bewilderment.

“Cass, wha—”

In a flash, Cassandra had appeared in front of him at his position on the floor. She grabbed Varian by the collar, violently jerking his body backwards onto the hard ground. He gasped as his head and back became the new sources for the excruciating pain rippling through him. Just as fast as she’d pushed him down, Cassandra yanked Varian upwards, ignoring his cry of discomfort as she did so.

She brought his face uncomfortably close to hers, venom spewing from her words as she smirked at him with unbridled lunacy. “ _Sorry_ isn’t enough, Varian. But you know what would make me feel better? _Making us_ ** _even_** _._ ”

Cassandra flung the bruised teen across the empty space, summoning black rocks to meet him wherever he landed. Varian crashed into the hard rock, his chest slamming mercilessly into its smooth surface. He both felt and heard a _crack_ as he collided, and he lay there, unmoving, as he tried to comprehend the severity of his situation. Cassandra was walking toward him slowly, her heeled boots causing more footsteps to echo throughout the inescapable realm.

Only this time, Varian didn’t experience a small glimmer of hope as he heard the sounds of someone approaching, like he did earlier. This time, he was filled with terror, every instinct in his body screaming at him to run while he still could.

Varian started to stand up — only to nearly fall back down again. He grit his teeth as his hand gripped one of the black rocks, his desperate struggle for physical support being the only reason why his battered body hadn’t crumpled to the ground yet. As he’d tried to get up, Varian had felt his broken ribs shift slightly, the sudden pain becoming nearly unbearable for him.

He watched as Cassandra grew closer, her horrific silhouette blending into the darkness. Only the blue of her hair, her piercing eyes, and the taunting glimmer of the moonstone distinguished her from the surrounding environment. Varian felt his legs tremble, a sign that he was unable to support his weight for much longer. He began to slowly place one foot in front of the other in a futile attempt at escaping the clutches of the approaching woman, but he was too late.

Cassandra had caught up to him now, summoning her rocks to curl upwards around Varian until he was entrapped almost up to his shoulders. She stalked over to him as he struggled against the firm grip of the rocks, ignoring the pounding of his injuries as he did so. Cassandra gripped his hair, forcefully twisting his face to face her own as she grinned cruelly.

“ _This_ is what you did to me.”

She clenched her right fist, causing the rocks around Varian to tighten even further. He was suffocating now, the familiar inability to breathe returning as he felt his lungs constrict and his tormented ribs cry out. “C-Cassie, st-stop p-please—”

Cassandra’s vacant eyes narrowed, face still exhibiting an unnaturally-chilling grin. She leaned in closer to Varian until her mouth was only inches from his ear. “ _This_ is what you deserve.” Her fist tightened, the rocks constricting even further around the broken alchemist.

He screamed now, the griping pain too much to withhold any longer as every bone and muscle in his body wailed. One of his broken ribs shifted and punctured a lung, and Varian let out an anguished choke. Crimson liquid stained his clothes as he coughed up blood, looking down at the collar of his shirt in a daze. She was crushing him, same as he’d once done to her.

 _You_ **_do_ ** _deserve this._

_You trapped your own father in amber, allowing him to agonizingly suffocate for an entire year. You drugged people. You committed treason. You kidnapped the Queen, and sent a monster to attack Coronan citizens. You nearly destroyed Rapunzel._

_You tried to kill Cassandra and the Queen. You helped the Sapporians take control of the kingdom. You erased the minds of the King and Queen. You almost caused the entire to kingdom to blow up. You really think this isn’t justified?_

_You deserve this, and_ **_so much more_ ** _._

Varian shuddered, at long last accepting his torturous thoughts to be the truth. Cassandra had been right all along, to treat him the way she had. In fact, she’d treated him far too kindly. Varian wheezed again. Blood continued to trickle out of the corner of his mouth, and was now dripping onto the surface of the black rocks that had nearly encased the entirety of his body.

Cassandra’s eerie form backed away from him now, and her shaking fist unclenched itself.

Varian felt the black rocks slacken until they crumbled away completely, turning into ash as they fell to the ground. With nothing left to hold his broken body upright any longer, he too collapsed onto the floor in a heap, a near-perfect parallel to the disintegrated pieces of darkness around him.

**✧ ✧ ✧**

In the real world, the sun outside was beginning to set, its descending silhouette sending the day’s last remaining rays of light piercing through the windows of Cassandra’s childhood bedroom. The modest warmth they provided was almost immediately snuffed out upon their entering of the room, an unknown entity seemingly hell-bent on draining all sense of comfort from the chilling atmosphere.

On the ground near the foot of the bed, Varian twitched in his nightmarish sleep. His body tensed, pain prominent on his features as his subconsciousness was subjected to a terror he had never before experienced in such vividness.

Varian coughed, his body convulsing slightly with the apparent agony the action had brought with it. Shades of dusky orange reflected onto his face from the outside world, bearing down on his twisted features.

The sky’s final colours ultimately revealed the truth of his traumatic circumstances as the bright red on his beige collar shimmered slightly, silently affirming to no one in particular that Varian’s horrific experience in the dreamscape was just as real as he felt it was.

**𐄙─✧──𐄙────✧────𐄙──✧─𐄙**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, the chapter title has a double meaning because i am that person :3
> 
> stop punching rocks, Varian, you're weak as heck  
> zHAn tIrI stOp YoU MoNsTEr
> 
> i'm so sorry guys. i wasn't lying when i said the spinoff stuff really wrecked me emotionally..


	7. bird of prey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, hello, and welcome to the world's longest dream sequence. 
> 
> OKAY SO WE BACK. This one was crazy fun to do so I hope it’s just as enjoyable to read as it was for me to write!! <3  
> I am. Not the best at describing things. But I hope the visuals make SOME sorta sense?? XD
> 
> Also!!  
> Gonna give some shoutouts to three of my favourite people out there-  
> @cayenneavocado & @mena-2001, thanks so much for beta-reading the first half of this chappie (and then screaming at me for it XD) !!!
> 
> & of course, I’m going to dedicate this one to poor @tangledsins, whom I tortured for weeks (out of love!<3) with out-of-context lines. Hope this trash makes your day jus' a little bit brighter, in a twisted, angst sorta way uwu  
> Love y’all so much (づ￣ ³￣)づ
> 
> ~Enjoy(?)~

**𐄙─✧──𐄙────✧────𐄙──✧─𐄙**

Hours passed, but the search yielded no results. 

The sun beat down on the group all throughout the day, wearing them down until the mere act of standing became a struggle. But the sweltering heat was drowned out amongst their worries, and went unnoticed by all. The longer they searched, the more frustrated they became. Fatigue and stress caused each one of them to grow irritable, masking the growing fear they each felt creeping up on them. 

The youngest pair of girls found themselves arguing with Lance over the most trivial of matters — Who would be riding which horse? How would the groups be divided up? Why were they searching _here_ and not _there?_ The bickering would’ve driven anyone mad, but Lance was perceptive enough to pick up the reasons behind their behaviour. They were all lashing out, because there was nothing more they could do. 

So he proceeded to indulge the girls, allowing himself to take the brunt of their anger. He would give in to a thousand more arguments if it meant that it would distract them from their worries for just a single moment. 

Quirin, on the other hand, had grown frantic. The poor man looked as if he’d aged years over the course of a single day, and Eugene’s half-hearted reassurances did little to ease his grief. 

By the time the sun began to set, even Rapunzel’s bright facade showed signs of cracking. They had scoured the woods as well as they could, but with only six people it was difficult to cover much ground. The princess had decided to keep the royal guards stationed throughout the kingdom, in case Cassandra decided to make a move while they were away. 

She was beginning to regret that decision now, Rapunzel realized as she slumped against a nearby tree out of exhaustion. Once again, she had decided to put her kingdom’s safety above Varian’s. She felt her stomach twist, both guilt and shame flooding her mind at once. What kind of a friend did that make her? 

“Hey,” Eugene called out softly. He nudged her arm and offered his girlfriend a reassuring smile. “We should...probably head back for the night.” 

“Eugene-” 

“I know, Blondie,” Eugene whispered as he took the princess’ hand in his own. “But we can’t keep going right now. It’s going to be dark soon, and everybody’s exhausted. I know you want to keep going, heck, _I_ want to keep going.” 

It pained him to say the words, but the former thief knew that stopping now was the rational choice. It was the rational choice, but also the hardest. He sighed in dismay. 

“But we’ve got no real lead right now, and with the state we’re all in...I think it’s best if we rest up and come back tomorrow.”

Rapunzel nodded, plastering a forced smile on her face as she suppressed the urge to burst into tears right then and there. She let Eugene’s hand guide her back towards Maximus, and the pair prepared to ride towards the other half of their group. Eugene raised his hands, ready to flick the reins and-  
  
“Wait!” Rapunzel stopped him. She’d heard rustling from the nearby trees, and her green eyes were now fixed on the spot where the sounds were coming from. 

_Crackle. Snap._

Eugene had noticed them now too. He tugged on the reins and motioned for Max to head towards the clump of trees Rapunzel was still staring at. The pair held their breaths as they approached with caution, minds filled with thoughts too good to be true. The sounds grew louder and louder until finally, they stopped.

When the mysterious shadow finally emerged from the trees, Eugene abandoned all plans of returning to the capitol. 

**✧ ✧ ✧**

With not one, but _two_ stolen artifacts in hand, Cassandra left the Spire feeling victorious. She’d managed to slip in and out of both Calliope’s residence and the ancient vault without so much as breaking a sweat. Swiping the Mind Trap had been a breeze, and the addition of a shape-shifting cloak to her arsenal had given her an unexpected advantage. Cassandra scoffed. _Calliope is a dunce._

Unconsciously, her hand slid into the satchel that clung to the side of her hip. Fingers curling around a jagged rock, Cassandra slowly pulled out the Mind Trap. She stared at the curious symbol carved into its surface — a circle with three slashes cutting through it — as she mulled over her plan for the umpteenth time. 

_Threaten to use the Mind Trap on Varian’s father._

_If Varian still refuses to hand over the Incantation, use the talisman to summon Quirin._

Cassandra could only hope that the sight of his possessed father would be enough for the alchemist to give in. She didn’t want to actually _hurt_ either of them, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t threaten to do so. Although she knew that the boy’s self-sacrificing nature — or _whatever the hell_ _it was_ — was holding him back from giving up the Incantation, Cassandra was certain that the fate of another person would be too much for him to bear. 

Strangely enough, the moonstone wielder found that realization rather alarming. Varian had been subjected to a lot during this past day, and yet he’d never once shown signs of giving in. Despite how badly he must have wanted to escape Cassandra’s clutches and go home to loving family and friends, he’d persistently rebelled against her.

He’d even fought against the truth serum so as not to let even a single word of the powerful rhyme escape his lips. It was worrisome, to see Varian so adamant about giving up his freedom without so much as a second thought. Cassandra didn’t think it would be surprising if he was just as willing to lay his life on the line, if it ever came down to it. 

She mentally chided herself. Just a moment ago, her thoughts had been consumed with plans to manipulate him by tapping into his past trauma; yet here she was, concerned about his mental stability. As much as Cassandra felt uneasy about the necessary actions she would soon have to take, she shuddered at the thought of using an alternative method. The former handmaiden was silently grateful that she hadn’t listened to the blue girl’s suggestion back when they had still been at the ruins of Rapunzel’s tower. 

“You could always _force_ the truth out of him. Even without the moonstone’s incantation, you still possess enough of its power to summon the rocks. Why, you even have the Shadow Blade, as well as some of the boy’s... _alchemical_ _solutions..._ at your disposal,” the ghost girl had nearly spat out the last few words in disgust as she’d glanced down at the vials sprawled out onto the rock nearby. “Surely, you can — ”

“No!” Cassandra had interrupted. “No, I’m sure there’s another way.”

At the time, of course, she hadn’t come up with a plan. All Cassandra had known was that the realization that she’d briefly considered the blue girl’s words had terrified her. This, coupled with the fact that they couldn’t stay out there in the open, had led her back to the cottage she hadn’t entered since she’d been abandoned there all those years ago. 

Her mind wandered back to the boy who was now alone in said cottage. She recalled with a pang of guilt that she’d left food within his reach before she’d stormed out on him. The girl glanced at the sun, which had begun to make its slow descent in the sky by now. _Had he eaten it?_ Cassandra wondered. 

The former handmaiden stared out at the horizon. In the distance, she could make out a body of water, as well as the pointed tops of the towers belonging to the royal family’s castle. Cassandra narrowed her eyes and placed the cursed artifact back into the confines of her satchel. With an angry yet determined gaze, her cyan eyes remained fixed on the capital as she prepared to descend into the surrounding woods. 

**✧ ✧ ✧**

“Varian?” 

A girl called out amidst the void, anchoring the boy’s fragile mind as he grappled with the familiarity of the voice. His ribs throbbed beneath the comfort of his shirt and his shut eyelids scrunched up in pain as he silently pleaded for the girl to simply let him _be._ Her violent attacks had injured him, sure; but it was her words that left a gaping hole in his heart. They had sliced through him with such ferocity that the physical pain felt minute in comparison to the fatal wound that threatened to drag him further into immeasurable darkness. 

Here he was, lying on the ground in agony because of _her_ — her sharp words and those _stupid_ rocks — yet despite how much it hurt, Varian felt as if he deserved every second of it. 

When Cassandra had released her grip on him, the way in which the alchemist’s body had crumpled to the ground had left his face pressed against the crook of his right arm. Only now as he attempted to reorient himself did Varian notice the wetness of the sleeve grazing his cheek, as well as the metallic scent that accompanied it. 

“Please, Varian. _Wake up._ ” 

_No._

Varian refused to open his eyes. There was absolutely _no way_ he could face those soulless, cyan orbs that he knew awaited him with the promise of more pain. He chose instead to ignore the girl’s pleas, almost as if his foolish mind actually believed that by _not seeing_ he could simply wipe both her and his current situation from the plane of existence. 

It was strange, though. She almost sounded... _worried_ for him? 

Without warning, Varian felt a hesitant hand grasp onto his shoulder — most likely in preparation to yank him backwards onto his spine and send him spiralling into a new dimension of agony — and his eyes shot open. His brain finally processed that _nope, nuh-uh, this is_ **_real_ **, and the alchemist flinched at the sudden contact, scrambling backwards in an attempt to get away from his tormentor. When his eyes fell upon the girl, however, Varian found himself looking not at the former handmaiden he’d expected to see, but at a petite blonde. 

“Ra- _Rapunzel?_ ” he spluttered. 

“Varian, oh thank goodness you’re awake! I was so worried.”

The alchemist could only stare at the girl in shock. What was she _doing_ here? And what happened to Cassandra, who had been here only mere moments ago, crushing his lungs with everything she had? Varian knew he’d hit his head at some point, but he didn’t think it was _this_ bad. Had he lost time? 

“Varian?” Rapunzel reached out hesitantly. “Are-are you okay? You’ve been out for a while.”

The boy remained silent, merely blinking back at the princess as his mind tried to grasp onto his current situation, which felt both oddly familiar yet novel at the same time. He instantly recognized the stone walls of his lab, their blue-grey tint reminiscent of the black rocks that had sprung up from beneath its floor so long ago now. 

Varian still wasn’t entirely sure whether he was stuck in a dream-like state or if what he was experiencing was somehow intermingled with reality. Everything felt so _real_ . He could feel the cold radiating off of the floor beneath him. His shoulder still tingled where Rapunzel’s fingers had brushed against it. He recalled with a wince the pain Cassandra had inflicted upon him. _That_ certainly hadn’t felt like a dream. 

“Varian?” Rapunzel tried again. “I know that...that things look bleak right now, but I’m here for you. _We’re_ here for you.”

Varian snapped out of his daze and spoke for the first time since he’d woken up on the floor of his laboratory.

“What?” 

_What is she talking about?_ Was she referring to his kidnapping? If so, then why were they _here,_ of all places? Nothing made sense. At least, not until the alchemist followed the princess’ gaze, his eyes landing upon the vast puddle and the surrounding slabs of orange rock that lay in the center of the room. 

His eyes trailed back to Rapunzel, realization dawning on him at last as not-so-distant memories came rushing back, flooding his senses. _The amber,_ Varian remembered with a startle. _This was where Rapunzel freed Dad._

Rapunzel’s arms reached out for him, pulling the boy into a tight hug. His battered body ached as the girl squeezed him, but he made no move to protest against the action.

“I tried my best,” the princess whispered. “But he-” 

Varian froze. If the semi-liquified prison was on the ground, several metres away from him, then _where was his father?_

He pulled away from her embrace in a panic, his mind racing as he rushed to his feet. He paid no heed to the sharp pain his ribs emitted as a result of the sudden movement. He could barely hear anything aside from the pounding of his heart and the blood rushing in his ears. Rapunzel’s voice was cutting in and out, and Varian only managed to catch fragments of her words as he ran towards the looming cluster of amber, nearly tripping over his own feet in the process. 

“-was too late-”

_No._

Arms flailing, the alchemist skidded to a halt before the amber. Desperate eyes scanned the remains of the broken prison, looking for a sign — any sign _at all_ — that its previous captive was somehow still there. Somehow still _alive._ Gloved hands frantically searched amidst the jagged pieces of orange, clawing uselessly at the air when they found no proof of what he seeked. 

“-nothing we could do-”

_No._

Varian was trembling now. Spasms seized his upper body and his eyes pooled with tears that threatened to overflow with the slightest movement. He couldn’t _breathe._

“-I’m sorry-”

_Nononono. This couldn’t be happening._

“This isn’t-this can’t-I-”

The words died on his tongue, their unspoken implications weighing him down until his body could take no longer. Varian collapsed, sinking to his knees amidst the rubble as blank eyes stared down at the ground before him. 

His sorrow-ridden reflection peered back at him from the surface of the liquified amber. This couldn’t be real. It _couldn’t._ His father had been freed from the amber months ago. 

And he had been freed _alive._ Somewhere deep down, Varian knew this to be the truth. 

Yet at the same time, the alchemist could feel the memories escaping from his mind. The reunion with his father, their heart-to-heart, and all of the time thereafter seemed lost to him. The faux life he had been living for the past few months decayed, its remnants slipping through the cracks of his desperate grasp like ash. What he had thought to be reality up until this point was now replaced with this new, nightmarish truth. One which painfully took hold of him like nothing he’d ever experienced before. One which _hurt_. 

The tears he’d held back slowly made their way down the boy’s cheeks now. Sobs wracked his frame, shoulders shaking uncontrollably as grief threatened to consume him yet _again_ . But this time, it was different. This time, Varian knew that there was no saving his father from his own foolish mistakes. There was no anger-tinted hope, no slim chance of finding a solution. There was no Plan B; there couldn’t possibly be. Because his father was dead.

  
 _Dead._

The word echoed in the alchemist’s mind, taunting him like he was the butt of some sick joke. Dead. No longer alive _._ He was dead. His father’s heart would never beat again and it was _all his fault._

The shock, the guilt, the despair — it was all too much, too fast.

Varian didn’t know how long he sat there, knees soaking in the pool of amber amidst his father’s former prison. Both time and reality seemed distorted. While it felt as if he’d been wallowing for an eternity, a sound from behind him seemed to indicate that, strangely enough, his breakdown couldn’t have lasted more than a few seconds. Varian heard the thudding of bare feet against the stone floor as the person he’d left behind now walked towards his crumpled form on the ground. 

_Rapunzel._ He had somehow forgotten that she was even there. 

Varian twisted his upper body, preparing to meet the embrace he was expecting from the approaching princess. But midway through the act of turning around, he froze. 

A flash of beige caught his eye, the colour standing out amongst the vibrant shades of orange. Curious, he leaned closer to examine it — and tensed up. Varian instantly recognized the familiar handwriting scrawled upon the foreign object, which he now realized was a piece of parchment. 

The penmanship was one he had seen time and time again. Notes sprawled out onto the surface of the oak table in his father’s study. Carefully crafted letters addressed to the neighbouring village leaders. Scribbles on the inside of hardcover books hidden on sturdy bookshelves, covered in the thick layers of dust that had gathered over years’ worth of abandonment. 

The alchemist knew, without a single doubt, that the hastily-written words stained onto the parchment before him belonged to his father. Shaky hands instinctively reached out to grasp the note, to grab hold of the unread valediction — but alas, fate remained as fickle as ever. An eerie chill took hold of the laboratory, bringing with it a breeze of unknown origin. The note was whisked away in an instant, only mere inches away from the boy’s fingertips. 

“No, _wait!_ ” Varian lunged after it, clawing at the air in vain as his father’s handwriting flew out of his reach. But the note remained unread, and the final words of Quirin of Old Corona disappeared from his son’s view at last. 

“It’s your fault, you know.” Varian whirled around at the unexpected sound of a voice, locking gazes with the princess standing a few metres away from him. Her usually kind eyes now glared back at his pale blue ones with nothing but pure and utter spite.

It was a look he’d only ever seen grace her features once before — during the Battle of Old Corona, seconds before she’d grasped onto those wretched black rocks and used their power against him. For that brief instant, Varian could _see_ the hatred on her face. The unbridled rage she’d felt as he’d gripped both her mother and best friend in crushing, metal claws had been clear in the way her lip had curled in contempt. 

He had hurt Rapunzel, and others, far more than they’d ever deserved. Still, it came as a shock to see such blatant anger on her face — _especially_ now. The questions _what?_ and _why?_ lingered on the tip of his tongue, an instinctual response to the princess’ statement, but Varian did not let the words slip out. 

He _knew_ the answer. 

“I know.” He replied simply and with a heavy heart.

Varian had no reason to deny the princess’ accusation, nor to fight back. Rapunzel’s anger, his father’s demise, even Cassandra’s hatred towards him — everything _was_ his fault. 

“It’s not just that.” 

“What do you mean?” Varian blinked at her in confusion. _Wait, how did she—_

“You _made_ me do this.” Rapunzel whispered. 

She bowed her head, fists clenching at her sides as she did so. With the princess’ abrupt silence and the alchemist’s initial shock, the room plunged into an eerie stillness. Varian opened his mouth to respond — with _what_ , he didn’t know yet — but he never got the chance.

  
  
“ _Wither and decay…_ ” 

A haunting voice filled the room, bringing with it a chill that sent shivers down his spine. Varian watched as the colour of Rapunzel’s hair morphed into one that was darker than his own. Her once-golden locks were now shadowy black, illuminated only by the streaks of bright blue that coursed through them like blood through veins. He didn’t like where this was going. 

He took a step forward.

  
“Rapunzel!”

  
  
“ _End this destiny…_ ” 

Unbeknownst to the alchemist, the tune pulled him in towards his doom like a siren’s song. He ran towards the older girl now, readying himself to shake her out of her trance the same way he had done the last time the deadly incantation had been used. The last time — had he seen this before? 

Varian frowned in thought as scraps of memories invaded his mind in a hot flash. A pail of water. Blind faith. Burnt gloves. The warmth of not one, but two separate embraces. _Rapunzel had sung this very same rhyme when she’d freed his father from the amber._

He was halfway to the princess now.

“ _Break these earthly chains…_ ” 

The memory was gone just as soon as it had returned, ripped away from the forefront of his mind by a pair of cruel, ghostly hands. Varian shook his head. What was he _thinking?_ That couldn’t be right; his father was dead. 

Only a few more steps left.

“ _And set the spirit free..._ ” 

Varian tried to dismiss the lump in his throat and the new set of tears that threatened to form in the corners of his eyes. He was nearing Rapunzel now, stepping in a careful manner so as to avoid contact with the deadly hair that flowed around them. He reached out with hesitant hands, ready to shake the princess’ shoulders and plead her back to the present. 

Just one more st—

He never made it in time. 

  
“ _The spirit free._ ” 

And with that final line, things somehow managed to spiral even further. Whatever sliver of warmth that had remained in the laboratory had now been drained of it completely, the room dropping to an astonishingly low temperature. The air was suffocating, and Varian struggled to keep his shallow breaths even as he continued to shuffle towards the princess. 

But his outstretched arms never made contact with her own; Rapunzel’s eyes shot open to reveal a pair of shadowy craters, momentarily halting the boy in his tracks. He stared back, captivated by them so much so that he missed the way the girl’s hair cascaded around him. Nor did Varian notice the way that it inched towards his frail frame like a ravenous beast creeping up on its oblivious prey.

At least, not until it was too late. 

Tendrils of darkness coiled around his waist in an instant and his body stiffened as the reality of his situation sunk in. _He was going to die._ The alchemist shut his eyes, biting his lip in anticipation. 

Varian had expected pain, but was surprised when he discovered he felt nothing more than the occasional tingle as the flowing hair brushed against his limbs. The dark magic seemingly had no effect on him, leaving his body intact rather than in a half-melted state like the amber that resided somewhere behind him. He let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding in. He didn’t know why he wasn’t screaming in agony, nor why he was still in one piece, but that didn’t matter right now. 

Varian had no time to dwell on the puzzling revelation as panic seized his mind. The hair had somehow managed to completely envelop his torso now, pinning his arms at his sides and preventing his escape altogether. Having no reason left to fear the power of the Decay Incantation anymore, he chose to fight back against the tight bonds that held him in place.

“Rapunzel, snap out of it!” Varian cried. It was no use. 

Her expression remained as vacant as ever. The only proof that she’d even heard him came from the slithering mass of black; the tendrils tightened even further around the alchemist now, squeezing the air out of his lungs with ease. 

“-punzel,” Varian managed to choke out in between gasps. “Can’t-can’t _breathe-_ ”

The world was spinning, the scene around him fading in and out as darkness crept into the corners of his vision. Colours and shapes mingled together in a nauseating blur, overwhelming his senses in an instant. The added layer of a pain-filled haze gave the impression of the room being underwater, and Varian felt as if he were drowning in a sea of inescapable thoughts. Whispers found their way into his mind, taunting him with words he’d heard before. 

Over. 

And over. 

And over again.

_Flicker._

The scene before him distorted. Rapunzel’s form shimmered with it, revealing slivers of another image behind it. In that short instant, Varian could’ve sworn he’d seen a glimpse of something sinister. Something _inhuman._ Chills ran up his spine. His stomach felt as if it had been plunged into the coldest of waters and wrung out by a pair of merciless hands. 

_Flicker._

The shadowy locks of hair that smothered the boy morphed into appendages. Rapunzel was no longer there. Instead, Varian found himself looking at some _thing_ . A horrid creature towered over him, its gnarled horns and jagged teeth glistening in the — was that _moonlight?_ It looked him dead in the eyes, an impossibly-wide grin consuming the majority of its face. 

Tentacles slithered amidst the muddled hues he could just barely make out, and Varian convinced himself that the appalling image was just a hallucination. With the lack of oxygen to his brain, as well as the panic that had already overtaken him, he was certain that this was the only logical conclusion. 

He was wrong.

_Flicker._

Back to Rapunzel, with those dark eyes and vacant expression. The appendages, which had morphed back into hair again, were up to his neck now. Varian fought for every breath, wheezing as each attempt only seemed to bring more pain. His lungs were on fire, and the tight grip around his middle jostled his cracked ribs even further. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t even _see_ through his hazy vision _._

_Flicker_. 

The mass of darkness was neither hair nor appendages. Now it was the black rocks, forcing themselves around his body just as they had before, when Cassandra had crushed him in that empty void with no remorse. As for Rapunzel, well...while she was no longer the horned creature, in her place stood someone much more terrifying. 

Varian looked up in fear, tired eyes meeting the psychotic gaze of the princess’ former handmaiden.

He shut his eyes and grit his teeth in anticipation. Her razor-sharp claws — no, _hands_ , the boy had to remind himself — found their way to his face. 

“You didn’t _really_ think you could get away from me, did you?” 

He flinched at Cassandra’s touch. Her cold fingers trailed along his chin before harshly yanking it upwards when he refused to meet her eyes. She ignored the sharp gasp of pain that escaped the alchemist, a shrill cackle escaping her throat. Her laugh echoed throughout the room, taunting him as it barged into his skull and played on repeat like a broken music box. 

“Hurts to be crushed, doesn’t it?”

The words sounded foreign and strangely mismatched coming from the lips of the cerulean-haired girl, but Varian’s mind could barely register Cassandra's voice in between bouts of pain. The tendrils stiffened when he gave no response, but he was too short of breath to bring himself to attempt to speak. Vertigo slammed into him full-force, disorienting him even further and bringing with it a cloud of nausea. 

But still he tried to overcome it, because he had to tell her. Tell her he was sorry. Sorry for what he did to her, Rapunzel, his dad. He was sorry, that he knew; but Varian also knew that his words meant nothing in the face of his actions. So he gave up the fight, succumbing to the darkness that rose past his chin now. The last thing he saw before the world dissolved around him was a flash of blinding blue. 

_Flicker_.

The scene shifted, and the alchemist woke up on the floor of Cassandra’s old bedroom. 

The room was dark, and much darker than he remembered it being. He was still in the same spot he last remembered, with his back against wood and one hand chained to the foot of the bed. Yet something felt off. Varian turned to look out the window, startled when he was met with the sight of a stormy grey sky on the other side of the glass. A low groan emitted from somewhere on the other side of the room and his head whipped back around as soon as he heard it.

He squinted against the room’s dimness, his mind finally deciphering the scene before him. Two shadows were near the room’s entrance. One was standing, their hand clutching an object whose surface glinted in the darkness. Varian caught sight of an unknown substance dripping from the end of the object and onto the floor in thick, noisy globs. 

The second shadow resembled more of a lump than a person. They lay on the floor in a slumped heap, and Varian would have mistaken them for a pile of clothes if it weren’t for the slow rising and falling of their chest. The figure in the doorway looked away from the body on the floor and straight at the alchemist now. Only the whites of their teeth were visible in the overwhelming darkness.

They lifted a foot in preparation to walk towards him, but Varian didn’t get the chance to discover their identity as they stepped out of the shadows; the scene blurred together again and he was whisked away from the room.

_Flicker_.

He had to blink twice before the world came back into view. 

Varian braced himself, but was relieved to discover that for once he wasn’t the main focus of the situation at hand. The air felt cooler and damper than before, more so than even in his old lab. Despite the ringing in his ear, Varian could hear voices. They overlapped with one another after every few words, rising to a crescendo as their interactions continued. 

“What do you mean you can’t read it?”

 _An argument,_ he realized quickly. But between whom? 

His vision returned slowly, blobs of colour forming to reveal the two figures before him. Two women — one with inky ringlets and a maroon dress, the other with a sharp jaw and pale face — stood across from each other in the vast room. Varian’s stomach dropped and he nearly let out a yelp as recognition settled in. He’d realized with a startle that he knew both of them. 

The one with the dark hair was someone he’d seen for the first time only recently, in the reflection of a dust-covered piece of glass he’d briefly caught a glimpse of. _Gothel._ Varian shivered. The woman’s mirror counterpart looked identical to the version that stood before him, save for the look of annoyance plastered upon her features. 

“That foolish alchemist encrypted all of the scrolls. Without him, we cannot possibly hope to translate them. But while the rest of us have been hard at work, what have _you_ been doing? Hiding out in the tunnels while we slave away?”

The third person in the room, the one Gothel was in the midst of an argument with, held a different kind of familiarity. Her physical appearance was foreign to his eyes, yet her aura was one he was certain he’d felt before. She oozed of something that Varian couldn’t yet identify — something _beyond_ foul. 

_You’re not supposed to be here._

An angry voice echoed around him, making the ground beneath his feet shake with such force that he lost his balance. Varian reached out his arms in a panic, but before he could hit the ground the scene shattered like glass and its fragments dissolved into the air.

_Flicker_.

He landed on the floor with a thump. 

The boy looked up only to discover that he had returned to the room in the cottage. The two shadows were still there, but this time he was witness to the revelation of their identities. Cassandra stepped out from the darkness, her Shadow Blade glinting in the light as she dragged the tip of it across the floor. Varian realized in horror that the sword was almost entirely covered in a deep crimson. 

He had to stop himself from gagging at the vile odour that consumed the room, but his head had already begun to swoon at the sight. Varian looked away from the blade, focusing instead on Cassandra. She was still trailing her blade lazily against the wooden surface of the floor, getting closer and closer to his spot on the ground. He’d experienced this time and time again: the flailing panic and irrepressible fear he felt at the mere sight of the former handmaiden. 

Varian yanked the cuff on his arm, hoping for some miracle that would allow for him to escape her clutches. Cassandra was everywhere, _all the time._ Always there to hurt him, to remind him of what he’d done. And he could never escape it.

“Now, I’m going to ask you one last time,” she drawled. The armour-clad girl had reached Varian now, and she knelt down to his level to deliver one final blow. “Give me the Incantation, and I’ll let you save your father.”

Varian froze. Ice crept into his veins and his heart seized up. He knew. In the back of his mind, Varian knew what he was about to see, but he couldn’t bring himself to look away. His eyes trailed back to the second shadow — the lump on the floor — and the dam broke. 

His father lay but a few metres away from him, covered in red. The boy could only stare at the twitching form with his mouth agape. Tears flowed freely down his freckled cheeks, and only incomprehensible noises managed to leave his throat. His father was dying, because of him. An image of half-melted amber flickered in his mind for an instant before being brushed aside completely. 

Amber? No, it couldn’t be. He was on the floor bleeding out, he wasn’t dead. _His father was still alive._

And Varian would make sure he stayed that way.

The alchemist looked up at the moonstone wielder and, without missing a beat, recited the Third Incantation for the first time since translating it. 

Over. And over. And over again. 

  
He said it aloud only once, yet his mind played the phrases of the rhyme on repeat. They haunted him as a reminder of the choice he’d made: the life of his father for the potential destruction of an entire kingdom. Varian felt sick to his stomach, but he _ran._

The second Cassandra destroyed the cuff around his wrist, he scrambled to his father’s side. He ignored the pain that seared through his own body, instead focusing on stopping the bleeding coming from the gaping wound in his father’s belly. 

“Dad, hold on! I’m just going to apply pressure on the wound, and then-”

But it was too much, and much too fast. No matter how hard he tried, Varian couldn’t stop the blood from gushing out between his hands. 

“Dad, come on! Stay with me, please.” He was soaked in blood well past his wrists now, but he didn’t care. Varian was trembling. Sobs wracked his frame but he continued to hold his hands steady.

“Dad..Daddy, please-” His voice cracked and he realized with a jolt that his father hadn’t once given him a response back. He kept his hands tightly pressed against the wound but Varian allowed his eyes to trail up to his father’s face. He was met with an expression twisted in utter horror and a pair of blank, lifeless eyes. 

His scream echoed throughout the cottage.

_Flicker_.

Varian woke up in the very same room for the third time, and he bolted. 

Instead of being chained and on the floor, this time he had awoken freed and on the bed. He didn’t bother to question it.

He ran, relying on the strength of unsteady legs to carry him out of the wretched room. Varian didn’t stop there, though, He crossed the threshold, swaying and stumbling into the outside world. But he didn’t slow down. 

Away from the cottage and into the trees he went. His breaths came out short and tight, and his chest screamed at him to slow down. Varian could feel his injuries — albeit not the true extent of them, given the rush of adrenaline — and he didn’t care. Right now the only thing that mattered was getting as far away as possible.

Far from the house, from Cassandra, from the flashes of death. Far away from his own mistakes. 

Varian stopped for just a second to catch his breath, and ended up doubling over in pain instead. His head was spinning, momentarily knocking him to the ground in a daze. He coughed, hacking up his lungs in the process, and looked down. Varian had felt the warm liquid escape his lips and he had seen the rather large puddle of red on the ground.

But he got right back up and ran. He raced through the trees, colours and shapes all a blur now as Varian realized too late that his vision was failing him. His foot caught on a root, and he tumbled. Time slowed down and, for just a second, he was soaring. 

Then he hit the ground hard. His head smashed against a rock, and everything went black.

𐄙─✧──𐄙────✧────𐄙──✧─𐄙

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's real, what's not? H e h e h e h e h.  
> Oh look more bad things happen who woulda thunk (¬‿¬)


End file.
